Anello de Casanova Italiano
by Kiyux the Shrubless
Summary: "Ring Of Italian Casanova" AkuRoku - The school pimp somehow gets mixed up with an orphan boy and his Italian foster family. -Bad Summary- AU Yaoi Rating may change. Some Italian w/trans. *Tried really hard!* -KH2/AC2- .crossover characters. -IN ENGLISH!-
1. Casanova lo Chupacabra

_**I don't know why keeps losing this. This is my fourth attempt to post it!**_

**I decided to do a prompt off of the line: "Hey... It's you."**  
**This is what I got.**

**This is an Assassins Creed crossover! But not significant enough to deter from the AkuRoku. This is an AU, T for suggestive themes and possible li-mon coconut fluffy cookie crips... or something.**

**Axel is very... sexist. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS FIC DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINIONS OF KlS PRODUCTIONS. Also... ITALIAN. There is a lot of Italian spoken in later chapters. All translations will be provided for the Italian-impared. Thank you.**

**Cassanova Italiano!**

* * *

A tall, lanky redhead made his way down the hall, sporting his million-dollar smile, which brightened every time he passed a female. He relished in the glow of making women swoon, squeal, and sigh over him. The emerald-eyed teen had every lady in this school wrapped around his finger with a smile, or a wink if they were playing hard-to-get. His seductive charm ensured that he never went home alone when he was in the mood for sex—which was most days—and he had access to the bodies of every female student and teacher in school with a phone call or a snap of his fingers.

But that wasn't what he was here for. A pretty red-haired freshman girl—Eiri…something…—had kept his lunch hour interesting by cornering him in the locker room for a good two rounds. The junior smirked. It was amusing when women thought they were intelligent enough to fool him. He knew she was lying when she said she wasn't a virgin… well, she wasn't anymore. He'd made sure of that before letting her go. To him, the best way to punish a liar is to make an honest woman of her.

No, the reason he was walking down the hallways of Half-Hearts High at 5 p.m., more than four hours after school had ended, and on a Friday, no less… was because he'd left something important in the History classroom.

He opened the door to the room, cocking an eyebrow that the light was on, even though the teacher was absent. The redhead entered, closing the door behind him and startling a blonde boy with glasses, who turned to glare at the intruder, narrowing his eyes and growling when he saw who it was.

The tallest of the pair, the redhead, looked at him with confusion. "Hey… It's you."

The blonde jumped out of his seat. "I have a name you know!" he spat venomously. "I've had enough of you people today! My name isn't 'You', 'Kid', 'Blonde', 'Nerd', 'Shortie', or 'Freshman'! I'm a Junior who skipped fourth grade! I've had it with all of these students pushing me around! Especially YOU! They all want to be trash like you!"

"Relax! I was just acknowledging your existence while I was trying to remember your name. Roxas, right?"

"I'm truly _**honored **_you remembered," he hissed like a viper. "How _**chivalrous**_ of you."

"Why are you so bitter? I haven't done anything."

"You really think you've done nothing? You've f**ked every female that has ever walked in the front doors! Even the PRINCIPAL! And try and convince me you wouldn't be bitter if for six years I called you _'Testosterone-for-brains'_ or _'Manwhore'_ or _'That guy that would screw anything remotely female'_. Because I'm pretty sure even you would be upset. Also, if I recall correctly, this week was Mrs. Whitman on Monday, Carol was Tuesday, and Wednesday you did Julia, on Thursday you had you way with both Ms Chelsea and Jessica or Monica… one of the Moon twins—and today was Ariel."

'_Oh yeah… it was Ariel. That was her name,'_ he thought. "I haven't done anything to hurt a cute little thing like you…"

"NOT going to work on me, firecrotch."

"I have a name too. Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" he tapped his temple with a forefinger before looking Roxas over. "I'm not taking back calling you cute, though."

Roxas scoffed, ignoring his comment. "What are you here for, anyway?"

"Something special."

"I'm not going to sleep with you and the teacher isn't here."

Axel shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant!" he lifted the top of the desk two rows in front of Roxas' and sighed with relief. "Thank God… It's still here…"

The redhead slipped a gold wedding band onto his left ring finger. There was an intricate design engraved upon it in black. Roxas tipped his head. "Are you a little… _young_ to be engaged? And I really can't imagine you ever settling down with one girl."

"This was my grandfather's wedding ring. He gave it to me before he died. I was only four, but I've taken care of this ever since."

There was a thoughtful expression on Axel's face, and Roxas couldn't suppress a blush. He looked… sweet. "You almost sound human. Like you're a being with emotions other than 'horny' and 'not-horny'."

Amusement filled Axel's bright emerald-green eyes. "Well, I don't know why I told you something so personal. I guess I trust you."

"I still don't trust YOU."

Axel walked back over to the blonde, leaning forward over the desk and softly taking Roxas' glasses off of his flushed face. Axel's cheeks reddened at the ocean-blue crystals he was looking into as he set the glasses aside, touching the back of his hand to the younger boy's face. "Dear God, Roxas… why would you hide eyes like these behind glasses? They're incredible… like sapphires…"

"Sh-shut up… you aren't funny…"

"I'm serious! God, Roxas… it's gotta be illegal for a boy to be so beautiful…" Axel's tone was soft, breathless at the bishonen* looking at him. The blonde was blushing, and that shyness was endearing.

Axel leaned forward to steal a kiss, but all he received was a stinging sensation upon his cheek. Baffled, he looked at Roxas, who was blushing furiously as he made a fist with his red hand to try and ignore the sharp pain on his palm. "Who do you think you are?" Roxas barked at him. "How _**DARE**_ you try to take advantage of me like that? I'll bet that ring wasn't even your grandfather's! You probably just made that up so I would trust you, so I would like you! All of these lies to trick me into sleeping with you! You _**DISGUST**_ me, Axel!"

"What? No! I couldn't help it! You were so cute… and the atmosphere was perfect for a kiss. I'm sorry, Roxas. I don't want to upset you…"

"Too late, because you already have. Honestly! Did you run out of women to sleep with, so you decided to go after a boy that the students think is four or five years younger than you?"

"I really didn't mean it like that. Please believe me. This ring IS very important to me and it WAS my grandfather's. I only tried to kiss you because the mood lured me in."

Roxas looked at the clock and stood, putting his glasses back on. "I have to go. If I'm lucky I'll make it back to my house just after dark…"

"The sun doesn't set for three hours! How far is your house? That must be one hell of a drive…"

"I can't drive, I'm only fifteen. I walk home from school every day."

Axel gaped at this. "How long does it take you?"

"Two and a half hours if I hurry."

"No way. I won't allow this."

"You can't keep me here!"

The redhead pulled out a set of keys from his pocket. "I live alone, so I have no one expecting me back. I'll drive you home."

"I don't want a creepy rapist like you to know where I live!"

"Ouch. Well, either way I'm taking you in my car. Would you rather I drive you home, or to my apartment?"

"Do either or both options require having sex with you?"

"No, I won't sleep with you, even though you're cute. Driving you home earns me a kiss."

"A kiss where?"

"Would you consent to a kiss upon your delicate hand?"

"I…" his face heated up as his stomach growled loudly.

Axel chuckled. "You aren't expected home until dark, right? I'll take you out for dinner. My treat. Then I'll drive you home."

Roxas was about to protest when his stomach grumbled louder, answering for him. "…okay."

"Italian food sound good?" he smiled at Roxas' sheepish nod. "Let's head out, then."

* * *

"Having fun back there, Miss Daisy?" Axel chuckled. "I still don't see why you won't sit up front with me."

"Because I don't trust you! You might try something."

"Whatever makes you happy, I guess," he shrugged as he parked the car. "Someone recommended this place."

'_Oh no…'_

* * *

**Next chapter contains quite a bit of Italian. The translations will be provided at the bottom of the page.**

**Well, there's a teaser for you. It was originally a oneshot but it may be more if I get pestered enough.**

**For the record: _Don't get in a car with a stranger, especially if he tried to kiss you within the first five minutes of knowing you._**


	2. Ristorante de Famiglia

**I decided to do a prompt off of the line: "Hey... It's you."**  
**This is what I got.**

**This is an Assassins Creed crossover! But not significant enough to deter from the AkuRoku. This is an AU, M for suggestive themes and possible li-mon coconut fluffy cookie crips... or something.**

**Italian spoken in this chapter. All translations will be provided for the Italian-impared. Thank you.**

**-all translations provided at the bottom of the page to not deter from the story.-**

**Cassanova Italiano 2!**

* * *

They were seated at a candlelit table, and the waitress who seated them had clapped her hands together when they entered, kissing Roxas on both cheeks in greeting as she squealed something excitedly in rapid Italian. Axel had raised an eyebrow at this, but remained silent.

"Roxaso! Come stai_?_" a large Italian man rushed to the blonde's side, hugging him tightly and kissing both his cheeks. Axel crossed his arms.

"Piacere di vederti, Uncle Mario..." the boy muttered, blushing. _'Please don't comment on Axel!'_

"And who is this-a handsome fellow-eh?" Mario looked at Axel.

"Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" he tried to cover up the annoyance in his tone.

Another man, one with the same lean frame as Axel, but in his thirties, walked over, kissing Roxas' cheeks. Axel was quickly growing irritated with all of the Roxas-kissing going on.

"Signore Fredrico—" Roxas spoke in a pleading tone.

"What have you been told, Roxaso?" Fredrico glared.

"Perdonami ... Papà ..." the blonde looked genuinely afraid of this man, making Axel suddenly want to punch his lights out.

"It's alright. Tu sei perdonato. Io ti amo," Fredrico kissed Roxas' forehead.

**-SLAM-**

Axel's hands hit the table. "Can we end this whole 'kissing Roxas' thing? I've had enough of it."

Mario laughed, motioning to Axel. "So this must-a be your new boyfriend-eh?" he grinned. "He's-a very protective."

"He's not—" Roxas had a feeling this was going to happen.

Fredrico embraced the boy. "I'll go tell Maria where you are, va bene? I love you. Be a good boy," he tapped his palm to the blonde's cheek.

"Sì, papà. Give Mama my love."

Mario clapped his hands together. "I-a know! I make-a my special dish for-a you lovebirds-o."

"Uncle, I—"

"I-a be back in a flash!"

When they were alone, Roxas crossed his arms and buried his face into them. Axel pet the blonde spikes to try and comfort him, but the boy shied away. Suddenly feeling a surge of jealousy, Axel growled. "Why are they allowed to touch you but I'm not?"

"They're my foster family!" Roxas snapped. "I was given up for adoption at birth. This is my eighth family… and the first that accepted me when I told them I… never mind…" Roxas stopped himself before he accidentally said too much. Axel was the last person he wanted to tell about that. What would the redhead think if he was told that Roxas' seven previous families had disowned him when they discovered he didn't like girls? How would the elder react to the knowledge that the blonde boy he had called 'cute' was gay? "It's… not important. Forget I said anything."

Axel literally pouted at this.

"Really, Axel? What are you, four?" Roxas rolled his eyes before smiling and breaking into giggles at the immense cuteness of the expression.

The redhead slipped Roxas' glasses off and set them aside, a dreamlike expression on his face. "If they can touch you and I can't, then I'm going to claim the privilege of looking at those eyes. Why do you wear glasses, anyway?"

"To… make people ignore me. I don't need them; I just don't want anyone to look at me…"

"Why wouldn't you want to be noticed? You're absolutely breathtaking like this. Every girl in school would want to date you. You'd be my love rival."

"I don't want that!" he combated tears, kicking himself mentally for his next thought. _'I don't want to be your love rival… I'd rather be your lover…'_

"Not a social butterfly, huh? You're so cute… I… I'm glad… that only I get to see you this way…"

Was Axel _**blushing**_? For a _**boy**__?_ "You're the only one I would show, Axel. I don't trust anyone else this much…"

He smirked. "I thought you didn't trust me."

"Maybe I changed my mind!" he replied cheekily.

"I'm glad."

"Roxaso!" Mario approached with a covered silver tray.

At the sound of the Italian accent, Axel suddenly felt prepared to stab this guy with a fork if he kissed Roxas again.

Mario set the tray down, ruffling Roxas' hair. "Now-a the two of you enjoy yourselves. And I-a hope you'll be bringing Axel-o to the house soon. You're Mama's-a very eager to meet him!"

"Uncle Mario! Why would Papa say that to her? You don't get it! Axel's not my—"

The man uncovered the tray to reveal a plate of moist spaghetti with succulent meatballs. When Roxas looked back to finish yelling at Mario, the man was already gone.

He groaned, hiding his face in his arms once more.

Axel reached across the table, taking Roxas' hand in his own. "I thought the deal was that I get to look into those incredible eyes of yours, Roxas."

Roxas looked up, and the redhead brushed his thumb over the boy's cheekbone. The lights in the restaurant had been dimmed, and the only real light source was the candles that illuminated their table. Roxas prayed his blush wasn't visible.

"Let's eat. I'll bring you home afterwards, alright?"

The blonde could not deny that he was hungry. He looked at the meal. Hadn't he seen this in a Disney movie once?

Axel had begun eating, and appeared pleased with the taste.

Roxas took a bite of a meatball, trying to suppress a moan of delight. "Mm…" he silently envisioned his uncle putting three pinches of ginger into the meat and sauce, something Roxas loved.

The redhead blushed at the sweet sound that escaped the younger boy's lips. Inappropriate images flashed through his mind.

* * *

"_Ah. Ah. Ah…" the blonde made a small sound of pleasure with each of Axel's slow, gentle, completed thrusts into his body._

_~That's confusing… Axel was __NEVER__ gentle during sex…~_

"_Roxas…" he breathed softly into his ear. "You're so beautiful… Wouldn't it be wonderful if you were to give birth to my children?"_

_~What? Axel had never thought of having kids on __purpose__…~_

_Roxas' face turned a delicate pink as he looked into his lover's eyes._

_~Lover? As in… a relationship?~_

"_Yes... Ti amo, Axel... I love you..."_

_~That was normal… sort of. Most of the time he would receive 'I love you's during sex… but normally at the end. It was still very early on in their lovemaking. Axel had never thought of it as lovemaking before either…~_

_He pecked Roxas' lips, touching their foreheads together. "I love you too, my Roxas. My beloved…"_

_~Axel had NEVER even CONSIDERED saying 'I love you' back to anyone.~_

_Roxas sighed happily, and Axel took this as a sign to quicken his pace slightly._

"_How does this feel?"_

_~He'd never bothered asking how the other felt… all that mattered was his own pleasure. He didn't usually care if they enjoyed it. He was more important than them.~_

_Roxas bit his lip as he attempted to muffle his slight whimper. "It hurts… a little…"_

"_I don't want to hurt you, dove," Axel kissed his forehead, slowing down slightly to make the expression of discomfort vanish from the blonde's face._

**-Axel? Are you alright?-**

"What?"

**-I said, 'Axel, are you alright?'-**

Axel looked at Roxas, who was sitting across from him with an odd expression upon his face. "I'm fine, _dove."_

"What did you call me? Axel, you're really creeping me out. You took a bite of the food and started… looking at me weird…"

"Oh. I'm sorry. I zoned out for a minute… We should… keep eating…" the blush on Axel's face was more than obvious.

They continued eating, and Axel rolled a meatball with his fork to Roxas' side of the plate.

"You want it? You seem to like them."

Roxas blushed. He was almost certain this had happened in a Disney movie. "Th-thank you…"

They weren't really paying attention while eating, and they suddenly brushed noses. Emerald met sapphire, and their lips were nearly touching…

Roxas bit the noodle and turned his head away from Axel, chickening out at the last second from his opportunity to kiss the redhead. Take that, Disney.

"S-sorry… I wasn't paying attention…" Axel felt his heart racing. The pounding was so loud in his ears that he was afraid Roxas might hear it. He came to the abrupt realization that the heat rising in his cheeks and his rapid heartbeat wasn't from lust… it was something else. He suddenly recalled the words for his fantasy.

_-I love you…-_

* * *

**Roxas' Foster family Italian conversations.**

**"Roxas! How are you?"**  
**"Roxaso! Come stai?"**

**"Nice to see you, Uncle Mario..."**  
**"Piacere di vederti, Uncle Mario..."**

**"Signore Fredrico..." -Mister Fredrico-**

**"Forgive me... Papa..."**  
**"Perdonami ... Papà ..."**

**"It's alright. You're forgiven. I love you."**  
**"It's alright. Tu sei perdonato. Io ti amo. "**

**"I'll go tell Maria where you are, alright? I love you. Be a good boy,"**  
**"I'll go tell Maria where you are, va bene? I love you. Be a good boy,"**

**"Yes, Papa. Give Mama my love."**  
**"Sì, papà. Give Mama my love."**

**"Yes... I love you, Axel... I love you..."**  
**"Yes... Ti amo, Axel... I love you..."**

* * *

_**A/N: I noticed something. Roxas says "I love you" in Italian during Axel's fantasy... Axel doesn't know Italian. Oops.**_


	3. Padre Temuto

**I decided to do a prompt off of the line: "Hey... It's you."**  
**This is what I got.**

**This is an Assassins Creed crossover! But not significant enough to deter from the AkuRoku. This is an AU, M for suggestive themes and possible li-mon coconut fluffy cookie crips... or something.**

**Italian spoken in this chapter. All translations will be provided for the Italian-impared. Thank you.**

**-all translations provided at the bottom of the page to not deter from the story.-**

**Cassanova Italiano 3!**

* * *

Love? That was such a foreign word to Axel, but familiar at the same time. It had always seemed like an empty word that didn't actually mean anything—

Fredrico grabbed Roxas by the arm, pulling him out of his chair with enough force to knock it over. Roxas trembled, closing his eyes and wincing as if he expected to be struck by his foster father. "Papà!" Roxas sobbed. "Che cosa ho fatto? Non farmi del male!"

Axel jumped out of his seat, clutching Fredrico's wrist. "No disrespect to you, sir, but I _**WILL**_ make you bleed if you hurt Roxas. I refuse to stand by idly if you intend to harm him in any way, and I will not hesitate to make you regret it if you injure that boy, sir."

Fredrico smiled. "Protective, aren't we? Don't worry, Axel. I'm not going to hurt my Roxaso. Right, boy? Papa's never hurt you before."

When Axel reluctantly released the man, Fredrico pulled Roxas into an embrace.

"Maria wishes to speak with you on the phone. And Leonardo is going away next week, so he will miss your birthday, but he has a gift for you in the office."

"Si, Papa. I will speak to him after I speak with Mama."

"That's a good boy."

"I love you, Papa," Roxas kissed his father's cheek and was released.

"I love you too," Fredrico smiled. "Go now."

Axel sat down once Roxas was out of sight. "For the record, I was this close to breaking your nose," he held his pointer finger and thumb close together to stress his point. "Also, I'm admittedly non-violent."

The older man chuckled. "Then let the record show that I would never hurt my Roxaso. He's a good boy. I couldn't bring myself to harm a hair on his head."

"Then why would he keep flinching like he thinks you're going to hit him?"

"He is intimidated. I would break anyone who tries to hurt my family. We've had him with us for six years now, but he still doesn't realize that from the moment he set foot in our home, he's been my son."

"So he's afraid that you'll hurt him if he upsets you or someone else in the family?"

"That's right. But I would never hurt my boy. His birthday is coming up on Thursday, and you're welcome to join the family for dinner if your parents say it's okay."

"I live alone. My parents hate me, so they kicked me out."

"All the more reason for you to join us. My wife wants to meet you, anyway. Your meal's on the house. The only price was being able to make that boy smile for once… and you've done it. I've never seen him so happy."

"Thank you, Mr. Auditore."

* * *

**"Papa!" "What did I do? Don't hurt me!"**  
**"Papà!" "Che cosa ho fatto? Non farmi del male!"**

* * *

_**Short piece. Also: Fredrico Auditore de Firenze! Yes. I know.**_


	4. Ascolta!

**I decided to do a prompt off of the line: "Hey... It's you."**  
**This is what I got.**

**This is an Assassins Creed crossover! But not significant enough to deter from the AkuRoku. This is an AU, M for suggestive themes and possible li-mon coconut fluffy cookie crisps... or something.**

**Italian spoken in this chapter. All translations will be provided for the Italian-impaired. Thank you.**

**The **_italic_** part within the **-hyphens-** is Maria (Roxas' foster mother) over the phone. The BOLD part in the **-hyphens-** is Roxas' voice being heard from the main part of the restaurant.**

**-all translations provided at the bottom of the page to not deter from the story.-**

**Cassanova Italiano 4!**

* * *

Roxas rushed past his family to the phone. "Ciao? Sì, mamma. Devo spiegare qualcosa. E 'di Axel. Mamma, non so come dirtelo questo ma he's-Mamma, ascolta! Lasciate parlare! Lui non è il mio fidanzato! Abbiate pazienza mamma. E davvero non è il mio fidanzato…"

_-"Roxaso, caro ragazzo, se ti piace, io sono dalla vostra parte. Papà e tutti gli altri, anche. Ti amiamo molto e spero ancora di incontrarlo, anche se lui è solo tuo amico. Vuoi per me per rimanere fino ad arrivare a casa, o avete intenzione di stare con Axelo?"-_

"Sarò a casa dopo il tramonto, ma si può andare a dormire se vuoi, mamma."

_-"Essere un bravo ragazzo. Ti voglio bene. Kiss Kiss, Roxas. Buona notte".-_

"Buona notte, mamma."

* * *

**-"Mamma, ascolta!"-**

Axel flinched. "Was that Roxas? Is he okay? What did he just say?" he looked at Fredrico with panic in his eyes.

"He's fine. 'Ascolta' means 'listen'."

Axel remained wary, but nodded.

* * *

**Another very short chapter, but it was mostly in Italian, so I cut it short for simplicity**  
**Roxas and Maria's conversation:**

**"Hello? Yes, Mama. I have to explain something. It's about Axel. Mama, I don't know how to tell you this but he's- Mama, listen! Let me speak! He's not my boyfriend! Please understand, Mama. He really isn't my boyfriend."**

**_-"Roxas, my sweet boy, if you like him, I am on your side. Papa and everyone else, too. We love you very much and I still hope to meet him, even if he's just your friend. Do you want for me to stay up until you get home, or are you going to stay with Axel?"-_**

**"I'll be home after dark, but you can go to sleep if you want to, Mama."**

**_-"Be a good boy. I love you. Kiss kiss, Roxas. Goodnight."-_**

**"Goodnight, Mama."**


	5. Data di Doni! Il Testo del Messaggio!

**I decided to do a prompt off of the line: "Hey... It's you."**  
**This is what I got.**

**This is an Assassins Creed crossover! But not significant enough to deter from the AkuRoku. This is an AU, M for suggestive themes and possible li-mon coconut fluffy cookie crips... or something.**

**Italian spoken in this chapter. All translations will be provided for the Italian-impared. Thank you.**

**-all translations provided at the bottom of the page to not deter from the story.-**

**Cassanova Italiano 5!**

* * *

"Cugino Leonardo?"

"Roxaso! Come in!" a man in his twenties called, standing up from his chair in the office and walking up to the blonde boy.

Leonardo hugged his cousin, kissing his cheeks as he slipped a present into the boy's hands. Roxas tipped his head curiously and opened it, looking up into Leonardo's eyes when he saw what it was. "A… cell phone?"

"You're almost sixteen, now. You're old enough to have your own phone. Happy early birthday, Roxaso. I'm sorry I won't be around for it, but I'll send you a text message on your birthday, alright?"

"Thank you, Cousin Leonardo… Enjoy your time in Venice," Roxas kissed his cheeks gratefully. "Buon viaggio."

"Go on, now. That red-haired boy is waiting for you up there. I'll bring you back something from Venice. Essere buono."

"Sì. Addio."

* * *

When Roxas returned, Fredrico hugged him. "Good night, Roxaso. I'm going back to the kitchen. Be a good boy," Fredrico then turned to Axel. "Nice to meet you. Please do consider my offer."

"Yes, sir," Axel watched Roxas sit down as Fredrico left. "What did you get?"

Roxas held up the cell phone. "I… I got a cell phone. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with it, though… I've never even held one before…"

Axel held out his hand. "Here. Let me see it."

The blonde handed it to him, and Axel pressed several buttons before giving it back. Roxas stared at him. "What was that about?"

The redhead smiled. "I put my number in there. So you can call me."

Roxas blushed. "But… I still don't know how to use it…"

Axel took out his own phone and held it out to Roxas, taking the blonde's back. He pressed some more buttons and the phone in Roxas' hand lit up and vibrated. The blonde yelped in surprise, looking at Axel with pleading eyes.

"How do I make it stop?"

"Press the 'OK' button."

The vibrating stopped, and a new screen showed up.

* * *

**FROM: 1-492-813-2834 **_**-ROXAS-**_**  
TO: AXEL  
-This is a text message, Roxas.**

* * *

Roxas took his own phone back, and Axel typed something out on his own phone. The screen on Roxas' lit up and a small tune played. "Do I press the 'OK' one on this, too?"

"That's right."

* * *

**FROM: 1-492-138-5329 **_**-AXEL-**_**  
TO: ROXAS  
-You're cute when you're surprised.**

* * *

Roxas blushed, hesitantly pressing buttons one at a time and then looking up at Axel when the redhead's cell vibrated.

* * *

**FROM: 1-492-813-2834 **_**-ROXAS-**_**  
TO: AXEL  
-dont make fun of me axel**

* * *

Smiling, Axel handed Roxas back his glasses. "Come on, Roxas."

* * *

"This one is my house."

Axel parked on the side of the street and got out of his car, gaping at the building. "Roxas, this house is huge! You seriously live here?"

"Yeah… there are two floors, a basement, and an attic. All finished. My bedroom takes up about half of the basement. It's a lot of space, and Mama keeps trying to get me to have friends over, but… I don't have any."

"Well… you have me now."

Roxas' cheeks turned red as he looked at Axel. "You… you'll be my friend?"

Axel smiled at him. "Of course I will. In all honesty… I don't have anyone I consider a friend. Never have. People who blindly follow you because you're popular aren't friends."

"People don't follow you because you're popular. They follow you because you're handsome."

"That means a lot coming from you. A few hours ago you hated my guts."

Roxas looked away. "I said you're a whore… I… I never said you're unattractive…"

"Still… it's nice to be complimented by someone you care about. Someone who's opinion matters to you."

They were leaning against the hood of the car, looking up at the stars. "I… I should get going. Signora—I mean… Mama might be waiting up for me," he started to walk towards the house.

"Wait!" Axel blushed. "H-how do you say 'goodnight' in Italian?"

Roxas turned around and smiled. "Buona notte."

"Buona… notte?" he repeated.

"That's right."

Axel moved closer, slipping Roxas' glasses off and caressing the warm cheek of the younger boy. "Don't forget that only I am allowed to be entranced by these eyes, Roxas…" he slowly lifted Roxas' hand with his fingers, bringing it to his lips. "Buona notte, Roxas," he kissed the hand. "Sleep well."

The redhead replaced the glasses onto the blonde's face, lingering close to his lips for a moment before stepping back and watching Roxas walk towards the house. When the blonde reached the door and put his hand on the knob, Axel took a step forward.

"Roxas!" he called after him. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Nothing really."

"Do you… want to go to the boardwalk with me?" he blushed nervously.

Roxas smiled. "Alright."

"Really? That's great! I-I'll call you in the morning. Can I pick you up around noon? We can get some lunch there…"

Roxas nodded. "I'll… see you then."

Axel couldn't suppress a grin of triumph. "See you tomorrow!"

"Good night, Axel," Roxas opened the door to his house and cast a fleeting glance at the redhead. _'Sogni d'oro.'_

* * *

**"Have a safe trip."  
****"Buon viaggio".**

**Be good."  
****Essere buono. "**

**"Yes. Farewell."  
****"Sì. Addio".**

**"Signora" -Mrs.-**

**"Goodnight."  
****"Buona notte."**

**"Sweet dreams."  
****"Sogni d'oro."**

* * *

_**Roxas + Cellphone = Cute?  
Yes.**_

**_Also, can YOU decifer the hidden cell phone # message?_**


	6. In realtà Sette! Incidente Alley

**I decided to do a prompt off of the line: "Hey... It's you."**  
**This is what I got.**

**This is an Assassins Creed crossover! But not significant enough to deter from the AkuRoku. This is an AU, M for suggestive themes and possible li-mon coconut fluffy cookie crips... or something.**

**No Italian spoken in this chapter. Lucky yous!**

**Cassanova Italiano 6 (-7-)!**

* * *

"Wait right here for me. I'm just going to run in to get my paycheck from my boss. I'll be back in a second."

Axel vanished into the building, and Roxas took off his glasses to wipe the lenses with the hem of his shirt. _'Salt… How did that get there?' he thought. 'I wonder what Axel's job is…'_

He wasn't wondering for long, because after a moment a handkerchief was slapped over his mouth as two people grabbed him. The started to drag him around the corner and Roxas threw his glasses into the sunlight in hopes that Axel would notice them and come to his rescue.

"Aren't you a pretty little thing? Such a cute little face…" a boy with sandy-blonde hair whispered as he stroked Roxas' face with a dirty hand. "I'm Hayner. And when I uncover your mouth, you'll stand nice, still and quiet, won't you?"

Roxas nodded quickly, petrified. _'I'm scared, Axel…'_

* * *

"Roxas, I…" Axel suddenly felt his heart race when he saw the blonde was not there. "Roxas?"

Axel saw something glinting in the sun with his peripheral vision. _'A pair of glasses? Roxas' glasses!'_

He walked up to them, mind reeling. If these were here, then that meant Roxas wasn't wearing them… and his eyes were…

_'Roxas!'_

* * *

Hayner licked his lips, making Roxas shudder nervously. He didn't know what Hayner and his friends were planning on doing to him, but he was absolutely certain that it wasn't going to be good.

He tried to hold back a whimper. _'Axel… Axel… I'm scared!'_

"Roxas!" a flash of red went past Roxas' teary eyes and Hayner was knocked off of him and onto the ground several feet away.

"Axel!" he cried out, eyes watering as Axel placed his hands on his shoulders.

The redhead looked into his eyes for a moment. "No matter what happens, _**don't move**_. Don't fight. And **DON'T** try to run. Stay completely still. Okay?"

"I promise."

Axel nuzzled his cheek hurriedly to reassure him before turning around and taking out Hayner's cronies with an elbow to the chin and a roundhouse kick to the ribs. He watched them disappear from sight, running—limping, rather—away before turning to Roxas.

Roxas' eyes widened as he saw something out of the corner of his eye. "Axel, watch out!" he cried, but Hayner took down the redhead before he could react, knocking him face-first to the pavement below. "Axel!"

Axel wasn't moving, and Roxas wasn't certain if he was even breathing. His mouth was dry all of a sudden. He wanted to rush to his side but he couldn't. Axel had made him promise to stay still, said it was safest not to move… and honestly… Roxas was so frightened and mortified that he couldn't have budged even if he had to.

Hayner walked towards Roxas, ignoring the possibly dead body at his feet. "Now then, where were we? You were smart to stay put. If you had tried running off I would have certainly killed you."

_Axel… had saved his life with those words…_

"But enough chit-chat. I'll make this as painless as possible for you, as long as you don't struggle."

_He had known it was safest to stay still…_

"Roxas, get back!

Following the sudden order, Roxas leapt backwards in panic as Axel rolled onto his back, sweeping his leg under Hayner's feet to knock him to the ground, using the momentum to lift himself up. Hayner freaked out, bolting off at incredible speed.

The redhead walked up to the blonde, staring at him for a moment with an open mouth as if he was about to speak, but suddenly pulled Roxas flush against his body into an embrace, one arm coiling around the small of his back as his other hand was entwined into the golden locks upon the boy's head. Axel nuzzled his face into the soft spikes as he held the boy closer. "I'm so sorry, Roxas… Dear God, I was so worried about you… I should never have left you alone… I wasn't able to keep you safe… I'm sorry…"

Roxas snuggled against Axel's warm, strong chest. "I was afraid you wouldn't find me… Axel…" he sobbed, wetting the redhead's shirt as he found himself unable to restrain his tears. "I was so scared!"

"Shh…" Axel pet his hair gently. "You're safe now. I'll protect you, Roxas. Don't cry…" he whispered reassurance into his ear, rocking him gently from side to side to help calm the boy. "I should take you home now."

"Will you stay with me?" he asked in a small voice as he tried to end his crying.

"I'm sorry. Not today. I have work to do at home."

Roxas looked down sadly. "Is it because of my family?"

"No, no, no, Roxas… I came here with you instead of working today, so I need to finish up what had to be done, and then I have to work all day tomorrow to make up for missing today. But… I'll drive you to school on Monday, alright?"

* * *

Axel walked Roxas to the front door this time. "Hey, Roxas…?"

"Yeah?" he turned to face the older boy.

"Get some new glasses."

"Why?"

Axel wrapped his arms around Roxas, pulling him close. "Because on Monday, I don't want all the girls in school trying to steal you away from me. Only I'm allowed to look at you like this."

"Possessive, much?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" he smirked. "I have the cutest best friend in the world. Obviously I want to keep you to myself. I'm very greedy when it comes to you."

_'Best friend…'_

"See you Monday, Roxas," Axel kissed his forehead gingerly. "Good night."

Roxas closed his bedroom door and slumped onto his bed. "Axel's my… best friend…"

* * *

**Well, people complain sometimes that I don't use enough KH characters in my fanfics because I don't like dealing with them all. So: Hayner. Happy now? The reason this chapter is labeled as 6(-7-) is because I didn't like chapter six and I didn't post it. It was kinda OOC for the plot. The real chapter 9 is gonna be cut out too, most likely.**


	7. Lunedi Mattina

**I decided to do a prompt off of the line: "Hey... It's you."**  
**This is what I got.**

**This is an Assassins Creed crossover! But not significant enough to deter from the AkuRoku. This is an AU, M for suggestive themes and possible li-mon coconut fluffy cookie crips... or something.**

**Italian spoken in this chapter. All translations will be provided for the Italian-impared. Thank you.**

**-all translations provided at the bottom of the page to not deter from the story.-**

**Cassanova Italiano 7(-8-)!**

* * *

Axel took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He heard a voice call to the door in Italian.

"Nessuno può rispondere a questa!"

The door opened and Axel chuckled. "Good morning. Ready for school?"

Roxas nodded, grabbing his bag and calling back into the house. "Mamma, io sto andando a scuola, ora! Vediamo stasera! Ti amo!" he turned back to Axel after closing the door and was met with a light peck on the forehead. Blushing, he looked up at the redhead. "What was that for?"

Axel smirked. "I missed you."

* * *

"Axel?"

"What's up?"

"You might want to drop me off at the corner."

"Why?"

"We… shouldn't be seen together in school."

Axel pulled into the school lot and turned to face him. "Why not?"

Roxas silently got out of the car, taking out his bag and heading towards the courtyard. "It's… just not a good idea."

"Roxas!" Axel grabbed his books and locked his car before walking after Roxas, using his longer legs to his advantage. "Roxas! What's gotten into you?"

"Don't call my name like that."

"At least tell me why you're upset! Roxas!" Axel caught his wrist, and Roxas automatically spun around.

A crisp sound broke the air as Roxas was released. Axel's books fell to the ground and the redhead crouched down on one knee; hand over his face as he let out a small groan of pain. A girl shrieked and a group of females flocked around him. "Axel! Are you okay?"

Roxas' eyes widened when he realized what he had done.

"That blonde kid hit Axel!"

He wanted to help, but the horde of panicky girls certainly weren't going to let the person who slapped Axel across the face in front of half of the school anywhere near their heartthrob.

Axel was not exactly in pain, he could take a hit easily… rather he was dazed as to what had just happened. Roxas had smacked him the first time they met as well, but the redhead remained confused as to what he had done wrong this time. The blonde had hit him before because Axel had attempted to kiss him out of the blue. All he was trying to do this time was ask him why he was mad.

Finally broken from his trance, Axel moved past the girls and grabbed Roxas by the arm, causing the younger boy to let out a surprised yelp as he was dragged out of the courtyard.

"He's dead," one girl muttered, and the rest nodded in agreement.

* * *

Axel pressed the blonde against the brick wall of the school and took the glasses into his hand, green eyes wide and full of hurt as they searched the blue orbs. The pained expression Axel sported was clearly indicating that he wasn't angry at Roxas, but simply confused as to what he had done in order to inflict the blonde's wrath.

Roxas threw his arms around Axel's neck. "I'm sorry!"

"Roxas… what did I do to upset you?"

"Nothing… You just always act so different in school… I was worried you'd shun me like before…"

"I wouldn't shun my best friend," Axel gently kissed his forehead, hugging him lightly. "Come on. I'll walk you to class. Where's your schedule?"

"Axel, we've had every class together since sixth grade apart from music. You just never noticed me. You're in piano and I'm in orchestra."

Axel blinked. "No way… Really? That would explain why you looked familiar and I knew your name…"

* * *

**"No one answer that!"**  
**"Nessuno può rispondere a questa!"**

**"Mama! I'm going to school now! See you tonight! I love you!"**  
**"Mamma, io sto andando a scuola, ora! Vediamo stasera! Ti amo!"**

**_Shorter piece. Because I can. And the beginning of the next part is funny. We meet a girl named Kasumi._**


	8. Bastoncini di Carote e Bent Righelli

**I decided to do a prompt off of the line: "Hey... It's you."**  
**This is what I got.**

**This is an Assassins Creed crossover! But not significant enough to deter from the AkuRoku. This is an AU, M for suggestive themes and possible li-mon coconut fluffy cookie crips... or something.**

**No Italian spoken in this chapter. Lucky yous!**

**Cassanova Italiano 8 (-9-)!**

* * *

"Guess Axel didn't kill that boy for hitting him."

"That kid's lucky. I was ready to murder him if Axel didn't, but Axel came in with that look that says 'stay back if you're smart because this is mine now!'."

"So the kid smacks him in front of half the school, and now Axe is _**protecting**_ him?"

One girl shrugged. "Maybe he felt bad because that boy's so small. The people in this school are like piranhas. Without Axel, the poor kid would be devoured in minutes."

Another girl sat at the table. "Have any of you heard who Axel bedded this weekend? I'm dying to know!"

They all shook their heads.

"That's weird. Even if it's not someone from out school, everyone usually knows by now…"

A blonde girl spoke as she munched on her carrot sticks, not bothering to look up from her psychology textbook. "Maybe he slept with that boy. And the reason no one knows is because they're keeping their passionate love affair a secret."

All eight females gaped at her. "That's not even funny, Kasumi!"

"Yeah, Axel's as straight as a ruler!"

The blonde girl scoffed, chuckling at that statement. "A bent ruler."

"Hey!"

Kasumi turned the page of her book. "Listen. All I'm saying is that if someone acts that straight, they're secretly gay."

"You've lost it."

The rest of the girls left the table, and Kasumi simply bit into another carrot stick.

* * *

**I love this girl. She's important later on for about ten minutes.**


	9. Musical Proposizione  Piano Viola!

**I decided to do a prompt off of the line: "Hey... It's you."**  
**This is what I got.**

**This is an Assassins Creed crossover! But not significant enough to deter from the AkuRoku. This is an AU, M for suggestive themes and possible li-mon coconut fluffy cookie crips... or something.**

**_No Italian spoken in this chapter..._  
Okay, that's a lie. There's a LOT of Italian. But it's all musical terminology so I will make you look it up! *evil laughter* Seriously. I'll only translate dialogue. I mean... I know all of these words already. Translations will not be provided for the music-impared. However, go to Google and type in "musical terminology". Wikipedia will be your friend today.**

**Cassanova Italiano 9 (-10-)!**

* * *

Roxas' bow gracefully glided over the gleaming silver threads, fingers knowing exactly where to go, and sheet music rendered useless by his calmly closed eyes. His breathing was gentle and steady, yet deliberate. He inhaled and exhaled with the smooth tempo his mind dictated by the imaginary conductor's baton, which he wouldn't have actually been able to see due to his closed lids, but he had performed this piece countless times and knew every legato, fermata, tremolo, dynamic, glissando, key change, staccato, vibrato, arpeggio, crescendo, and accent that he was expected to play, even the ones that were not written upon the marked staffs of his sheet music that remained unseen.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, wrist flicking upward as his pointer finger and thumb flipped his bow upside down, twisting it 180° and tossing it upward an inch to settle the handle between the second joints of his middle and ring fingers.

Content with the bow's position, his eyes fluttered closed again as his fingertips plucked at the strings, producing an entirely new sound from the instrument.

The music instructor watched intently, leaning forward in his chair as he watched the skilled student's pizzicato section, a pleased smile on his face at the lovely sound that reverberated with each pluck.

After a minute or so, Roxas reversed the elaborate bow movement, not bothering to look as he performed the trick a second time, and returned to the sawing motion with his bow, his face serene as he began an intricate musical display of arco allegrissimo with mixed soave and tremolo. As he played the final note, a soft, drawn out C, he opened his eyes and looked at the teacher expectantly.

"Incredible as usual, Roxas. The way you store your bow when it is not being used during your pizzicato is indeed very creative. Yet I take it my standing offer for this year is still going to be rejected?"

"Sorry, Mr. Bergendahl. I'm not interested in the music competition. I know that you have asked me every year at assessments, but my answer remains no."

"You have a lot of talent, Roxas. Don't let it go to waste. Mrs. Keshigan is having enough trouble with her most skilled piano student. She's been trying to get him to perform since he was in third grade. If he could just focus on something other than women for once, he would be the next Chopin by now…"

Roxas suddenly looked up. "A piano student?"

"Yeah. That redhead all the girls like so much. Believe it or not, the boy has talent. Keshigan and I were discussing yesterday that if the two of you were to perform a duet in the competition, you would win for sure."

Roxas blushed, placing his viola into the case. "I… I'll think about it. Maybe I will perform this year…"

"That's great! Happy early birthday, by the way. I was actually hoping that you would play your viola for my recording studio. A producer for a new movie wants me to use the most gifted students in our music program for the soundtrack. I want to request you play for the string pieces. You'd get paid for your work, of course."

"Do I… have to decide now?"

"Tell me by Friday. Music studio starts work on Saturday."

* * *

Mrs. Keshigan tied her long, wavy black hair back into a ponytail and motioned to the piano bench. "I hope you've taken some time out of your sexual escapades to practice for your assessment, Axel."

"Don't worry, Kesh! I've spent my study period here every day for the past month. You know I've practiced!"

She smiled; sitting in a chair as the redhead slowly lowered himself onto the bench and adjusted his feet and fingers to their proper places on the keys and pedals. "Ready?" she leaned back. "Whenever you'd like to start…"

Axel reached one hand up to the top of the piano and released the metal bar of the metronome from its hold, adjusting the bronze weight to the correct tempo. He replaced his hand upon the keys and closed his eyes, taking a slow, deep breath before his hands suddenly started moving on their own. The piece he was playing contained a large impromptu portion, one that he was perfectly ready to complete. Axel's fingers glided skillfully over the keys, his long, slender digits giving him unparalleled dexterity with the instrument.

Each key was pressed in perfect time, the press of his pads to the ebony and ivory slates sending the small hammers to tap the inner strings of the piano, producing a lovely sound that filled the room. Any tension present floated away on the notes, and there was a calm, tender smile on Axel's lips. Music was the expression of the innermost depths of the soul… and Keshigan suppressed a sly grin. Axel's soul was most certainly showing as he played, showing just how much burden and loneliness had been lifted off his shoulders, and something told the music teacher that there was something—or some_one_—out there that had actually touched his heart, warming it and making the redhead smile for real. Keshigan smiled softly to herself. This was the first time she had felt pure contentment from Axel's music since he was ten years old.

The way Axel played his impromptu was revealing his innermost feelings, even the once the redhead didn't know existed. The instructor shook her head gently, allowing her loose ponytail to lie on her shoulder. The final section of the composition was coming to a close, a beautiful adagio that steadily eased out in a calando ritardando, ending with a decrescendo broken chord.

"Bravo, Axel. I'm impressed!"

"Thanks."

She smiled. "So who is it?"

"What?" he tipped his head.

"The person you're so crazy about! I could hear it in your impromptu piece! Someone touched your heart, Axel!"

Axel's face turned bright red like his hair. "I…" his mind suddenly drifted to a certain blonde boy, which simply deepened the blush. "I… I made a new friend. On Friday… and we're really close…"

Keshigan clapped her hands together. "Is it that boy? The one my female students are complaining about? The blonde one with glasses?"

"Y-yeah… That's Roxas…"

"From what I heard, he smacked you this morning."

Axel nodded. "I made him upset. It was a misunderstanding. Everything is fine between us now."

"I'm glad."

The redhead couldn't hold back a smile. "Yeah. Me too."

"Are you going to reconsider the competition this year?"

"I doubt it."

She pouted. "That's a shame. Mr. Bergendahl and I were discussing how we could pair you and his best viola student up for a duet. You would certainly wow them all. I think the student he mentioned might be that blonde boy, actually."

"R-Roxas? You… you think?"

"I do believe that was it. Also, Bergendahl asked me if you would mind playing for his recording studio. They're composing a movie soundtrack and he's collecting the best students to perform."

"I'll think about it."

"Have a good rest of the day, Axel. And… I'm glad to see you smiling for real again. It's been a long time since I've seen you happy."

Axel gave her a nod and left.

* * *

**Duet! Duet! Duet! *chanting* Okay, maybe not. But that's besides the point. Alright, so as much as I HATE to do this, next chapter crosses over Final Fantasy 7. Redhead2: Reno comes into play. He becomes important. Also, the piece with Kasumi... That made this a For Lack of a Better Name crossover tooooooo... Jeez. What's next? A catboy named Ritsuka? A gay fish named Roger? Don't give me any ideas. The last this we need is Loveless and Gurumin.**


	10. La musica non è per i bulli! Redtesta 2!

**I decided to do a prompt off of the line: "Hey... It's you."**  
**This is what I got.**

**This is an Assassins Creed / FLoaBN / Final Fantasy VII crossover! But not significant enough to deter from the AkuRoku. This is an AU, M for suggestive themes and possible li-mon coconut fluffy cookie crips... or something. TURKS!**

**No Italian spoken in this chapter. Lucky yous!**

**Cassanova Italiano 10 (-11-)!**

* * *

"Well, well! If it isn't Shortie!"

Roxas froze, clutching his viola case to protect his instrument.

"We heard you gave Axel what-for. You're tougher than you look, Kid… or maybe he saw how puny you are and took pity on you."

The silver-haired boy grinned as he advanced on Roxas, backing him up until the blonde felt his spine against the cold metal of a row of lockers.

"Luckily, we don't have any problem wailing on you for him. Whoops! Can't hit a kid with glasses. Take them off so I can smash your face in."

Roxas shook his head slowly. "I'm not allowed to take off my glasses…"

Another thug of the three-person crew, a blonde girl with slicked back hair and antennae-like bangs, hissed softly. "Either you get those things off your face or we'll shatter every bone in your body first before I rip them off your face myself and break your nose last!"

"Axel told me the keep them on…" he replied quietly, hoping the mention of their 'idol' would make them go away.

A blue-haired young man with an X-shaped tattoo on his face grabbed Roxas' wrist and twisted it behind his back, making the boy cry out in pain. "Too bad," he had a strong accent of some sort and smelled like a wet dog. "You could have made this so much easier, Blondie."

"M-my name… is Roxas…"

The silver-haired leader smirked in slight amusement-slash-annoyance. "You think we care? You know what? I really want to punch this kid now. And I want to know why Axel supposedly wants these glasses to stay on…"

He reached up, about to tear the spectacles off of Roxas' face when a voice cut in.

"I would really like you to keep those glasses on his face, Riku."

The silverette—Riku—turned and smiled. "Any reason why?"

"Because I told you to and I want all three sets of your grubby paws off of him?"

Riku chuckled. "Just because you look like Axel doesn't mean you are him. You have no authority here. We don't care what you say, Reno. You're just a transfer student, so don't act like you own the place. Right, Saïx? Larxene?"

"Oh, don't worry. I know I don't own the place," Reno smirked, pointing to the area behind the silver-head. "But he does."

Riku spun around to face another, almost identical redhead, arm lazily resting on Roxas' shoulder as Saïx and Larxene cowered nervously, Saïx sporting a black eye that Riku could have sworn wasn't there before. "A-Axel!"

"Riku, Riku… Were you going to hurt my friend Roxas?" Axel pulled his blonde boy closer, icy emerald gaze not breaking contact from Riku's uneasy one. "I take it you won't be bothering him again. You of all people should know when something belongs to me."

Grumbling, Riku and his gang ran off. Reno walked up to them and bowed politely to Roxas.

Axel gave the boy a light hug, looking him over for any sign of damage. "Are you okay, Roxas? They didn't hurt you too badly, did they?"

Roxas shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Thanks, Axel. And thank you… um… what was your name?" he looked at the second redhead.

"Name's Reno. At your service, my beautiful blonde youth," Reno kissed Roxas' hand and winked, noting the glare Axel shot at him for the action. He smirked.

"N-nice to meet you. I'm Roxas. Thank you for your help, Reno," he blushed slightly at being flirted with so openly.

Axel gave him a nod, trying to suppress his anger at the flirty redhead making a move on the naïve blonde. "Yeah. I owe you one, Reno. Name your pick. I'll hook you up tonight."

Reno thought about it, then pointed to Roxas. "That one."

Furious, Axel snarled, clutching Roxas possessively as the blonde's eyes widened in confusion. "You can't have him! I meant a girl! You're straight, Reno, don't pull this shit!"

"I don't want to have sex with him. I want to see what you're hiding under his glasses. That's my price."

Axel gritted his teeth, but Roxas just blinked stupidly. Why was everyone so obsessed with his glasses? "Fine…" Axel turned Roxas to face him and slipped them off his face.

Reno looked into Roxas' eyes, making quick work of pulling the blonde's body flush against his own to get a better look. "Oh, man… he's mega-cute, yo… I'm starting to reconsider wanting to sleep with him…"

"Don't even think about it, Reno!" Axel hissed.

Reno ignored him, grinning at Roxas. "You wouldn't mind paying a visit to my fantasies tonight, would you?"

Roxas furrowed his brow. "Kind of… not that I can stop you."

"That's the spirit!"

Axel pulled Roxas back into his own arms, placing the glasses delicately over his eyes. "Damn it, Reno! Creeps like you are the reason I make him keep these on!"

Reno simply waved, blowing Roxas a kiss before walking off, leaving them alone. Roxas looked up at his friend, who was glaring in the direction Reno had left. "Axel? Are you alright?"

The redhead held Roxas closer, grip tightening.

"Were you… _jealous__?"_

"He… pisses me off… That's all… Cocky arrogant prick, flirting with you and drooling over you like a starving dog over a piece of meat…"

Roxas stood on the tips of his toes and kissed Axel's cheek, a small smile on his face as he lay his head on Axel's shoulder. "You're jealous because he's exactly like you?"

"What?"

"Axel, you and Reno are like mirrors of each other. Only your hair is crazier."

Axel felt a growl rumble deep in the recesses of his throat as he was flooded with the desire to kiss him, take him, prove him wrong. He yearned to claim his lips in his own, press their bodies together and show Roxas that he was better than Reno could ever hope to be…

"But there is one more difference. Reno isn't my best friend, Axel. You are."

The redhead embraced Roxas tighter, arguing with himself as to whether he would be murdered by Fredrico if he were to give in to the temptation of attacking Roxas' succulent neck with his mouth and teeth, ravaging the flesh until the blonde cried out his name and moaned in ecstasy. "You're too good to me, Roxas."

"Someone has to be," Roxas snuggled closer to the muscular chest. "Even you deserve to be treated like a person sometimes."

"Only sometimes?"

"Can't let you get a swelled head, Axel."

Axel rubbed their noses together and murmured into his ear. "Can something else get 'swelled'?"

Roxas rolled his eyes, pushing him away. "I treat you like a human and in response you act like an animal."

He retrieved his viola case and started to walk away.

"Although… I have to admit…" he said just loud enough for Axel to hear. "Reno _is_ kinda hot…"

* * *

**Oh noes! Axel is a lusty demon, isn't he? So jealous! And... RENO is his EVIL TWIN. Or something like that. Whatever.**

**This is all I have for now so I need to actually go back and fix some plotbubbles so I can get to the next part I have written out.  
_BUT I NEED MOTIVATION SO THAT I ACTUALLY DO IT! PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU LIKEZ!_**


	11. Ladro! Le Piante Sul Tetto!

**I decided to do a prompt off of the line: "Hey... It's you."**  
**This is what I got.**

**This is an Assassins Creed / FLoaBN / Final Fantasy VII / Pokemon crossover! But not significant enough to deter from the AkuRoku. This is an AU, M for suggestive themes and possible li-mon coconut fluffy cookie crips... or something. **

**Pokemon crossover mentioned. Erika, the fourth gym leader in Kanto. Grass type. You'll see.  
Ouran High School Host Club reference!**

**No Italian spoken in this chapter. Lucky yous!**

**Cassanova Italiano 11 (-12-)!**

* * *

Tuesday rolled around as Axel rolled around the corner and pulled up to Roxas' house. The blonde was sitting on the porch, waiting for him.

"Hey! Who's this cute little blonde on Roxas' porch?" Axel smiled at him as he sat beside him on the stairs. Roxas didn't look up, and Axel looked at him with concern. "Roxas? Roxas, are you alright?"

Roxas looked up and wiped his eyes, sniffling.

"Hey…" Axel embraced him. "What happened? Don't cry, Roxas… It's okay."

"I… my viola…"

"What happened to your viola?"

"Riku… Riku took it…"

Axel stood up. "What?"

Roxas nodded, wiping his eyes. "I went to the store to get more milk about an hour ago, and the shopkeeper, Cid, has wanted me to play for him for awhile, so I figured I had time…" he wiped his eyes again. "So I brought my viola case with me, and when I got to the store, Saïx grabbed me, Larxene hit me, and Riku took my viola…"

"Where did she hit you?"

The blonde looked up the rest of the way to reveal a bruise on the left side of his jaw. It looked like it was painful, and Axel was sure the salty tears running over it weren't helping.

"Roxas…" Axel kissed the bruise softly, pulling the boy onto his lap as he hugged him gently, rubbing small circles on his back. "Shh… It's okay. We'll get it back. I'll get it back for you. There'll be hell to pay for them hurting you again."

Roxas calmed down slowly, nodding. "O-okay…"

"Let's go."

* * *

The entire school seemed to fall silent as Axel walked into the building. Everyone could sense his fury, and no one wanted to get in his way and risk injury or even death. Roxas nervously trotted after him, not certain if the looks he was getting meant _'nice knowing you, kid'_ or _'you're lucky he hasn't killed you yet'_.

Riku was in the choir room, _Music Room 3_, with his thugs. He was laying on the piano bench with a pair of scissors, cutting up the viola's strings into little pieces that fell all over the floor.

"I ran out of strings. Hand me that bow."

There was a yelp of fright-slash-pain. Riku snapped up as the atmosphere in the classroom grew morbid and deadly.

"Shit!" he turned around to see Roxas cowering behind an obviously-upset Axel. "Hey, Ax! How's it going?"

"That's an interesting question, seeing as you not only disobeyed my orders, put your hands on something I clearly stated was mine and therefore off-limits, and hurt my friend… You mugged him of his instrument on his way to the store. Now it looks like you've started destroying it. Roxas, how much is that viola worth?"

"Huh? Oh… it… it was a gift from my second family… an Alberti Milan… it cost about $6,000… The strings alone were $87 each…" Roxas whispered.

"What?" Riku growled. "I could have sold this for a ton of money!"

Axel glared at him. "No. You could have stayed away from Roxas like I told you to. And now I'll tell you what you can do. You can both pay for Roxas' new strings and give the instrument back quietly and without a fuss, or you could try to escape and make me break both of your legs first… THEN pay for the strings."

"Where am I going to get that kind of money?"

"I suggest finding a way by tomorrow unless you want to try and scrounge up the money for a hospital bill as well," Axel took the viola, bow and case in his hands and led Roxas back to his car.

"Axel… Are you really going to hurt him if he can't pay for my strings?"

"I'd like to avoid doing so. I'm not a fan of violence. But for you, I'd beat the snot out of that kid."

Roxas stopped in his tracks. "But… why? Why would you…?"

Axel froze. "It's… because we're best friends. I… I have to protect you, you know…"

"Oh…"

"Why do you ask?"

The blonde shook his head, dodging his gaze. "No reason…"

* * *

"Here."

Roxas stared at the blue popsicle-shaped item. "What is it?"

"Sea-salt ice cream."

"I never thought I'd hear the words 'salt' and 'ice cream' in the same sentence…"

Axel smiled. "Just try it. It's good."

Hesitantly, Roxas took the ice cream and looked at it for a moment. He watched Axel take a bite out of his own. "Okay…" he opened his mouth and licked it, face scrunching up. "It's salty!"

"Try taking a bite instead," he chuckled.

"_Om_…" he made a small noise as he bit the popsicle, teeth getting a chill from the cold substance. His face lit up. "It's sweet too!"

The redhead kissed his forehead. "Glad you like it. Come on."

"Axel…" he blushed, taking another bite. "Where are you taking me?"

Axel led him up staircase after staircase. "Somewhere special."

"Special?"

Instead of answering, Axel opened a door to reveal a rooftop garden. Roxas' eyes grew wide as he looked at the colorful array of flowers that surrounded them. Axel sat down on the ledge, patting the spot beside him so Roxas would sit as well. "What do you think?"

"I think it's incredible!" Roxas smiled. "How did these flowers get up here? Who takes care of them?"

"There's a club in our school that deals with flowers and plants and whatnot. They come up here before and after school to water and feed them, turn them toward the sun, that kind of stuff. Then someone comes to put a rain cover over them at night so they don't drown if it rains."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"How did you know about this place?"

"Do you want the truth?"

"Yes."

He ran a finger through his hair and sighed. "One girl I was with for about a week, she was one of the long-term ones, an interesting girl to say the least. Short, dark green-black hair, her name was Erika I think… She was the leader of the club. Brought me up here a few times."

"Did you have sex up here?"

"She gave me a blowjob, if that's what you wanted to know."

Roxas covered his ears. "Too much information! Gross!"

Axel chuckled. "If it makes you feel any better, it wasn't very good."

"Axel!" Roxas smacked his arm.

"Easy, killer… you might knock us off the building if you play rough."

Blushing, Roxas stood up and walked over to the flowers, discarding the popsicle stick into a garbage can. "If… if she wasn't good… why did you stay with her for so long?"

"I liked it up here. Can you blame me? It's really nice here."

The blonde shook his head. "Am I… the first person you've brought up here?"

"Second… But you're the first one I brought up here without the intent to kiss."

"You… you brought the other one here… to kiss her?"

He shrugged. "Well, yeah. She was playing hard-to-get so I brought her up here. She thought it was so romantic and whatnot and she finally let me kiss her."

"So you… don't want to kiss me."

Axel looked up at him with wide eyes. "Why? Do you _want_ me to want to kiss you?"

"No… I was just curious, that's all…"

Axel walked up to the blonde, hugging him from behind. "Roxas… can I tell you a secret?"

"O-okay…"

"I'm kind of angry about what you said yesterday."

"What did I say yesterday?"

"That you thought Reno was hot."

Roxas blushed. "I… I didn't say that…"

"I think you did… and you just don't want to admit it because you're afraid of what I might do to you if I found out."

"J-just out of curiosity… what… _would_ you do?" he whispered.

"Hm…" Axel mulled it over. "I would make you the second."

"Second what?"

"Second person I brought up here and kissed…" he murmured into his ear. "…and then I'd beat Reno up."

"What? Why? Axel, no!" he pushed his friend away, looking at him with wide eyes. "Y-you…"

Axel raised an eyebrow. "I was joking, Roxas."

"Joking?"

"That's right. I was kidding."

"R-right…"

A bell tolled. Axel looked at him. "Class time. Let's go. Oh, and Roxas? I have a question."

"What is it?"

"What do you want more than anything else?"

"I… I have everything I could ever hope for… I—I even have a friend."

Axel nodded. "Come on then. We'll be late if we don't hurry."

* * *

**…Hmm... Joking... INTERESTING...**

**5 dollars for anyone who can point out the Ouran High reference!**

**The girl Axel brought up there was... XD _MISTY_. Or Cissnei. Or NURSE JOY... Okay, I'm done.**


	12. Pagare il Prezzo di una Promessa

_**-Very short piece that sets up the next day's events.-**_

**This is an Assassins Creed / FLoaBN / Final Fantasy VII / Pokemon crossover! But not significant enough to deter from the AkuRoku. This is an AU, M for suggestive themes and possible li-mon coconut fluffy cookie crips... or something. **

**No Italian spoken in this chapter. Lucky yous!**

**Cassanova Italiano 12 (-13-)!**

* * *

Riku convinced his father to loan him the money for Roxas' strings, and Axel took Roxas to get them from the music store. Axel had never seen anyone string an instrument, and it was interesting to watch. And it sounded beautiful when Roxas played a note to test the tuning. Or maybe it was Roxas who was beautiful, that look of concentration as he turned the pegs and the joy when he found each string's proper tone.

"Good night, Roxas."

"Thanks, Axel. I don't know what I would do without you."

"I could say the same to you."

Roxas tilted his head. "But I haven't done anything but cause trouble for you…"

"That's not true, Roxas. You've made me very happy over the past few days, and I would gladly stand up for my best friend when he's being picked on. But I want you to make me a promise."

"What?"

"Promise that you'll play a song just for me one day," Axel pressed their foreheads together and looked into Roxas' eyes, glasses placed in the viola case long ago.

Roxas blushed, kissing Axel's cheek. "I promise."

The redhead hugged him, smiling as the boy nuzzled his face into his chest. "I'm going to go home before it rains. See the clouds? It's dusk and I don't want to be driving in both the dark AND a rainstorm."

"Okay."

Axel pecked his forehead. "See you tomorrow, champ."

"What kind of nickname is that?" Roxas called after him.

"A better one than Blondie," he replied as he drove off.

* * *

**…Like I said. Very short, but it sets up the next piece. It's a _transition_ I say!**


	13. Telefonate per la sicurezza

The parts within the -hyphens- that are **BOLD** and _Italic_ are Axel's voice on the phone.

**This is an Assassins Creed / FLoaBN / Final Fantasy VII / Pokemon crossover! But not significant enough to deter from the AkuRoku. This is an AU, M for suggestive themes and possible li-mon coconut fluffy cookie crips... or something. **

**No Italian spoken in this chapter. Lucky yous!**

**Cassanova Italiano 13 (-14-)!**

* * *

Roxas looked out the window, or rather at the beads of water running down it, illuminated for brief moments as lightning flashed across the sky, his hand cupping his chin as he propped his arm upon the windowsill with his elbow. _'I hope Axel made it back okay… I don't know how far away he lives.'_

He turned to look at his cell phone, sitting on the far desk, plugged into the wall on its charger. Roxas sighed. "He could have at least texted me to tell me he got home safely…"

The blonde flopped onto the couch, closing his eyes as he turned off the light. A crash of thunder practically shook the house, and Roxas sat up again.

"Maybe I should text him, just in case?"

He grabbed his phone and flipped it open.

"Wait… what if he's still driving? If he tries to text back he could get in an accident…"

Roxas stared at the screen, blushing as he looked at his background. It was a bright red with diagonal emerald-green streaks across it. _'Axel…'_

"I should send him a message. There's no way he's still on the road, he left an hour ago."

The text box popped up on his phone.

"But I live on the far side of town. He might live in the complete opposite direction. It takes a half hour to get from one end to the other, but it could take longer in the dark and rain…"

He closed his eyes, looking around the living room again. When there was rain and thunder Roxas slept on the couch because the basement may flood and he didn't like hearing noises outside when he couldn't look through his window to see what it was. It was scary.

"Maybe I should call him instead. That way he doesn't have to text if he's still in the car…"

He closed out of the message window, pulling up his contacts. Axel was at the very top of the list, and his name and number were lit up in blue.

"Come on, Roxas… You can do this…"

Taking a deep breath, he pressed the green 'call' button. Each time he heard the ringing he contemplated hanging up, but he simply held the phone tightly as the butterflies welled up in his stomach. After the fourth ring, the line picked up and a groggy voice resonated into his ear.

_**-Hello?-**_

"Axel?"

_**-Hey baby… what's up?-**_

"Did you just call me 'baby'?"

**_-You woke me up.-_**

"That wasn't an answer. So… does this mean you're home?"

_**-Roxas, it's—**_(*_there was a pause*)_**—_it's been over an hour since I left. I've been home for awhile now, doll. I live ten minutes away, it took me fifteen because I drove slowly so I wouldn't crash and die.-_**

'_Did he call me "__**doll**__"?'_ Roxas blinked. "Well, I was worried about you. You could have at least sent me a message saying you didn't get killed on the way home. I've been fretting over here for awhile now, wondering if you made it back okay."

_**-Sorry. I didn't realize you'd be upset. Once I got back I showered, changed and went to sleep.-**_

"You didn't eat dinner?"

_**-I was too tired. I'll eat in the morning.-**_

"Axel… I… I'm glad you're safe."

_**-Thanks, kiddo. It's nice that you care whether or not I'm dead. So have I made you feel better yet? No more nightmares about my untimely end?-**_

"Y-yeah… I'm better now. Get some sleep."

**_-Alright. G'night, babe. See you tomorrow.-_**

"Sweet dreams."

Roxas hung up. _'Why did he keep on calling me those things? Was he really that tired? I… I wonder if he… no. Axel's into girls. He's just teasing me because we're friends. That's all…'_

He lie down on the couch and cast one final glance at his phone before he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. "Good night, Axel…"

* * *

**…another short, sweet, setup piece.**


	14. Nostra figlia, la pianta

The part within the -hyphens- in _Italics_ is a flashback of something Roxas said in another chapter.

**This is an Assassins Creed / FLoaBN / Final Fantasy VII / Pokemon crossover! But not significant enough to deter from the AkuRoku. This is an AU, M for suggestive themes and possible li-mon coconut fluffy cookie crips... or something. **

**No Italian spoken in this chapter. Lucky yous!**

**Cassanova Italiano 14 (-15-)!**

_CHAAAAAARLIIIIIIIIEEEE..._

* * *

"Good morning, sunshine!" Axel beamed, looking well-rested and relaxed.

Roxas simply looked up at him, finding himself too embarrassed to look Axel in the eye. Axel was more-or-less asleep when they talked last night, so he wouldn't remember what he said. "'Morning."

"Something wrong, kipper? You're usually a lot more… _awake_ in the mornings… Did something happen? Did someone hurt you?"

"No. I'm fine. I… I'm glad to see you safe and sound. I was worried last night."

Axel smiled sadly. Roxas must not remember their phone call. "Yeah, but I'm alright. Don't worry your pretty little head over it."

"Right."

* * *

"Hey, Roxas?" he looked in his rear-view mirror to see his Little-Miss-Daisy. "Tomorrow's your birthday, isn't it?"

'_Oh no… Axel knows!'_ he thought despairingly. "Yeah."

"How old you gonna be?"

"Sixteen…"

"Sixteen? That's an important landmark, Roxy. Why aren't you excited? Most people are happy when they turn sixteen."

Roxas hugged his knees. "I… I'm afraid that… When I turn sixteen… They'll send me back."

"Send you back where?"

"To the orphanage."

Axel nearly jumped. "Why would they do that? Your family loves you."

"If we aren't adopted… they take us back when we turn sixteen, then they throw us out on our own when we turn eighteen. I… I don't want to go back to that horrible place, Axel…"

"Roxas…" he pulled into the school lot and parked, turning the engine off and got into the backseat with Roxas, pulling him into an embrace, "how horrible is it?"

Roxas closed his eyes and moved closer to his friend's warm, comforting body. "They're mean to us, and they take our special things away from us… and if we misbehave they hurt us or lock us up in our room… I've had to bury my viola behind the bushes in the back yard six times so they wouldn't take it away from me. It's all I have. I don't want to go back there. I like Mama's cooking, and the school lunches are incredible compared to what they feed us… I don't want to lose Mama and Papa and Uncle Mario and the rest of my family… I don't want to lose you, Axel! Don't let them take you away from me! I… I couldn't bear losing you. You're the only friend I've ever had. You mean more to me than anything else… Axel… Please don't let them take you away. I'd miss you too much…"

Axel listened in silence, stroking the sobbing boy's hair.

"But if I'm not adopted within three days of turning sixteen… they'll come and get me. I'm scared… I'm scared to go back. I… I'm the only one that hasn't been adopted. Because all my other families brought me back when they found out I was ga—"

"_**HEY! GET TO CLASS!"**_there was a loud knocking on the window. Roxas jumped, not at the sudden noise, but the fact that he had almost confessed to Axel that he was gay.

Axel turned to face it. "Alright already! Jeez."

"_**DAMN IT AXEL IF YOU DON'T CLEAN UP YOUR ACT…"**_

"I know, I'll get suspended. Unfortunately for you the principal is an easily influenced woman."

"_**I'LL FIND A WAY!"**_

Axel opened the door to look at the vice principal, a stocky man in his fifties, short and stout like a little teapot… and balding. Do teapots go bald? "Charlie, I hate to break this to you, seeing as you're oh-so-focused on getting me in trouble, I wasn't doing anything wrong."

"That's Mr. Hollander to you! You were in the backseat of your car with—"

Axel pulled Roxas into view, pointing out the tears on the blonde's cheeks. "With my friend, who was having an emotional crisis? Now if you'll excuse us, we need to get to class. Are you feeling any better, Roxas?"

Roxas nodded, wiping his eyes. "Yeah. Thanks, Axel. I needed to vent…"

"Anytime. Come on. We're late."

Axel locked his car and walked with Roxas into the building.

"I'll get you an ice cream, okay? We'll go up to the roof and eat it in the garden. That'll cheer you up, right?"

"Okay."

* * *

Roxas threw his popsicle stick away and walked along the rows of flowers, stopping at one with a few holes in the leaves. "This one's being eaten by aphids… poor plant…" he looked at another one that's flowers were starting to lose their luster. "I wonder… if plants are like orphans. What do they do with the ones that get old and aren't as pretty as the others? Do they get rid of them? Lock them away because no one wants them? Then they line up the fresh new young ones that everyone wants to see… the little kids that everyone wants to adopt… while the ones that didn't get chosen the last season or were brought back because they didn't bloom correctly… are put away until they're supposedly big enough to take care of themselves? Plants… maybe they're better than orphans. There's always hope for them with love and care, but you can't fix a boy that didn't turn out right."

"Roxas?" Axel hugged him from behind reassuringly. "What are you looking at?"

"This plant… its flowers aren't as pretty as the others… because it's older… What do you think happens to the plants when nobody wants them?"

"Roxas, even though this one has less color in its flowers doesn't mean no one would want it. It's still beautiful in its own right. It's just older."

"But… older… nobody wants them if they're older…"

"I don't think that's true. Here. Look at this…" Axel picked up the plant and set it down on a bench in the sun. "It's beautiful on its own. See? It didn't have enough sun as well. The leaves are perking up. There's something beautiful in everything if you give it a chance and don't compare it to others."

"Axel… I've never heard you talk like this before…"

"You know, Roxas… Give me a minute. I'll be right back."

Axel went up to a small shed and walked in. After a moment he came back out and sat down next to the plant. Roxas tilted his head. "What did you do?"

"I bought the plant. This place is a nursery. They bring the plants that they want to sell to the market every weekend. So I looked up how much it was and left a note and the money. So now we own the plant."

"We?"

"Sure! You found it, so you should at least take some of the credit. It's our plant now. Do you want to give it a name?"

"Name a plant?"

"If you were a plant, wouldn't you like a name from your new parents?"

"Parents? I thought we were owners!"

Axel chuckled. "You said yourself that plants are like orphans. So wouldn't an orphan like a name from its parents?"

Roxas looked at the plant for a moment. "I think it's a girl."

"A girl plant?"

"Yeah."

Axel grinned. "A daughter plant then. So what should her name be?"

"…Nova. Her name is Nova."

The redhead took Roxas' hand and gave him a yellow ribbon. "Why don't you tie it around her stem so we don't lose her?"

"Okay."

Roxas had a warm, happy smile on his face as he tied the ribbon. Axel kissed his hand. "Hey, Roxas."

"What is it?"

"I call being the dad. That makes _you_ the mom."

"I don't want to be a mom! No fair!"

The blond suddenly noticed that there was a ribbon on his right ring finger.

"What?"

Axel held up his own right hand. "I got one too."

"All yellow…"

"Of course. We're a little family now."

Roxas felt butterflies in his stomach. It was the most wonderful sentence he had ever heard. But then he remembered that on Monday, their family may be ripped apart.

* * *

Axel pulled Roxas aside in the hallway outside of the music rooms. "I'll take Nova with me for now. I don't want anyone in your class trying to pick on you for having her with you, so I'll take care of her. Keshigan is the kind of teacher that would let Nova sit on top of the piano."

"Okay. See you, Axel. Take care of Nova."

Axel pulled Roxas back to him, kissing his cheek softly. "Be safe."

"You too."

Axel watched the viola player enter the orchestra room before letting out a sigh and turning around.

"That was quite the display, Axel. I was under the impression you liked women."

He spun around. "Reno…"

"Is that the real reason you constantly try to keep me away from Roxas? Is he your new f*ck-buddy?"

"Absolutely not! I haven't and won't sleep with Roxas. He's my best friend!"

"Which is why you just kissed him?"

"It was on the cheek and I was just telling him to be safe. Never know when a jerk like you might come prancing along and try to molest him."

"Ouch. Your words hurt me deeply, Axel. Then again, if Roxy-baby is _JUST_ your friend… he's fair game in my eyes. I'm pretty good-looking if I do say so myself. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to gym class. I'll see you and Roxy later, Axe-head."

_

* * *

_-"Reno is_ kinda hot…"-_

* * *

"Oh, and Axel… nice plant," Reno laughed as he walked away.

"If he even looks at Roxas I'll kill him. We're not just friends…" he looked down at Nova. "…I think."

* * *

Roxas walked out of the orchestra room saw a redhead leaning against the lockers. "Axel! Where's Nova?"

"Hey, Roxy-baby."

"Oh… Hi, Reno…" Roxas looked away, blushing. "Have you seen Axel?"

"Aren't you happy to see me?"

"S-sure. But I'm looking for Axel right now… our plant is—"

"Your plant? You mean that nearly-dead flower Axe-head had?"

"Nova is **not** nearly-dead! She's beautiful!"

"She? So you're treating it like a person? Roxy-baby… it's a **plant**. Why would you worry about a dull flower when you could be having fun with me?" Reno pressed him against the lockers.

Roxas tried to push Reno off of him. "I think your idea of fun would be far from pleasant for me. I really just want to find Axel and Nova!"

"I can make you want me instead…"

"No! Reno, stop it!" Roxas shoved him away.

Reno smirked. "I was just joking around, Roxas. You're too uptight. You need to loosen up a bit or you'll never get any enjoyment out of life when the time comes. However…" Reno pressed his lips to the corner of Roxas' mouth, "that's a taste of fun."

As Reno walked off, Roxas fell to his knees and sat there. _'Does that count? It wasn't fully on my lips but… he stole it… he stole my first kiss…'_

"Roxas? Roxas, what happened?" Axel knelt beside him, placing Nova in front of the blonde.

"Axel… where were you?"

"I ran to the bathroom, then went back to get Nova from Keshigan. Sorry I was late…"

"Does it count… for your first kiss… if it's… here?" Roxas touched his finger to the spot where Reno had kissed him.

Axel tilted his head and furrowed his brow. "No, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure it has to be a real kiss. I wouldn't know… mine was so long ago… I think I was ten…"

Roxas felt the lump in his throat go away, elated at the news. Reno hadn't taken his first kiss! Though it was the closest thing to a real kiss he'd ever had.

Roxas lifted Nova and looked at her flowers. "She really is beautiful."

"Takes after her mother," Axel winked at him.

Flushed, Roxas handed the plant to Axel. "Shut up."

The redhead chuckled. "Yes, _dearest_."

Suddenly reminded of their phone conversation the night before, Roxas looked up at him. "Axel… do you remember… when I called you last night?"

Axel blushed slightly. "A little bit."

"You kept calling me these weird names… like 'baby' and 'doll'… Why?"

"That… I don't remember, Roxas…" he lied. He remembered… he just didn't know why he had said those things. It had seemed like a good idea at the time…

"Oh. Never mind, then."

* * *

"Hey. See you tomorrow morning, okay? Take care, birthday boy."

Roxas nodded, giving Axel and Nova each a hug before letting the 'father' and 'daughter' drive off.

"I wonder if Mama would freak out if I said that Axel and I have a daughter?" he giggled, stomach growling. "You don't think it's funny, you just want to eat, huh. Maybe Mama will let me have some biscotti…"

* * *

**Yeah, I'm hungry. BUT I MUST REMAIN DEDICATED!**


	15. Ansia Attacco

**You can read the AN in previous chapters to know what goes here.**

**This part is short, but it reveals an important detail about Roxas!**

**Italian spoken in this chapter. All translations will be provided for the Italian-impared. Thank you.**

**-all translations provided at the bottom of the page to not deter from the story.-**

**Cassanova Italiano 15!**

* * *

Axel didn't say a word to Roxas about his birthday all day. This confused Roxas. Why was he ignoring it?

In fact, Axel hardly spoke to him all day. He didn't kiss him on the cheek or forehead or hand, didn't freak out when Reno flirted with the blonde, and didn't even comment when Riku bumped into him in the hallway. Something was wrong, but every time Roxas went to ask him, something came up.

"We're here."

Roxas looked up. "Huh?"

"I said we're here. Your house."

"Oh. Right."

Fredrico was waiting outside for Roxas, and saw Axel. "Roxaso. Aren't you going to invite him to stay for dinner?"

Roxas' face turned bright red. "Wh-what?"

Fredrico smiled at Axel, beckoning him over. Axel got out of his car and walked up to them. "You're right on time, Axelo."

"Am I? I'm usually fashionably late, but I suppose having Roxas with me requires that I be punctual."

"Come on. Axelo, everyone is in the back except for my wife Maria. I'll get you settled in the house first and let her meet you before bringing you to meet the rest of the family."

"Papà! Si prega di non farlo!" Roxas whined, nerves making his voice crack.

"Roxaso, why don't you go put Axelo's coat in your bedroom?"

The blonde quickly did as he was told, trying to pretend that this wasn't actually happening. Why? Why did Axel have to meet his family when they might all be taken away from him in three days? He started to hyperventilate, and he fell to his knees on his floor, clutching the bed sheets to steady himself.

"Why… I don't want them to meet… I don't want them to know each other… I don't want them to meet only to have them taken away! No… no… don't take me back… please don't take me back… don't take everything away…" his breathing and stress levels were skyrocketing, and his heart rate was haywire. Roxas felt his legs go numb, circulation dying out from his trembling body. These anxiety attacks were not new… but this was by far the worst he had ever experienced. He started to take in sharp bits of air, almost like hiccups, but Roxas knew it was intentional. His body was losing its feeling, and Roxas couldn't see anything. The short intakes of breath were not sending enough oxygen to his brain, and it was official:

Roxas' body was shutting down.

There was a tingling sensation on his skin, a pins-and-needles effect, but he couldn't understand whether it was painful or wonderful. He collapsed to the floor, breath stopping for seconds at a time, followed up by more hiccup-like gasps for air. His brain was quickly shutting down anything it could to focus on keeping Roxas alive. Until he blacked out.

* * *

**"Papà! Si prega di non farlo!"**  
**"Papa! Please don't do this!"**

**That's right. Roxas suffers from anxiety.**


	16. Ecco a voi, miei cari

**You can read the AN in previous chapters to know what goes here.**

**Axel meets Roxas' mom! I love Maria. _BTW: Maria is the Tyo maid in For Lack of a Better Name (FLoaBN). Apparently she married Fredrico._**

**Minimal Italian spoken in this chapter. All translations will be provided for the Italian-impaired. Thank you.**

**-all translations provided at the bottom of the page to not deter from the story.-**

**Cassanova Italiano 16!**

* * *

"Maria, darling. Axelo is here."

A beautiful young woman spun on her heels to face her husband. She had brown crimped hair and soft eyes. "Oh? Let me meet him, then!"

Axel stepped slowly into the kitchen, looking down. He knew he wasn't what she expected for her son. He looked like a rapist punk trying to make a statement with his hair… though it was naturally like this. He had tattoos on his face, two upside-down purple teardrops. That's not the sign of a good kid to let your son be friends with. He was at least a foot taller than Roxas, and lanky. Thin yet lean. Just who you want your boy hanging around with: someone taller and stronger that could easily overpower and have his way with him. Axel knew he wouldn't be welcomed by this woman as her son's friend. It was a shame, though. He really did like Roxas…

"You're so tall!" she squealed.

"Y-yeah… I know…"

"Did you gel your hair into spikes like that?"

"No. And I didn't dye it either. It's naturally like this."

Maria was right in front of him now, excitement written all over her face. "Can I touch it?"

"Maria…" Fredrico went to intervene, but his wife was already running her fingers through the spikes.

"Your hair is really silky and soft, Axelo…" she had a dreamy tone in her voice. Was this a mother or a fangirl?

"Th-thank you… Mrs. Auditore…"

"Look up. I want to see your face."

He complied, and her eyes sparkled with delight.

"Your eyes glow! They're so pretty! Are those real tattoos? That's so cool!"

"Y-yeah… They're real…"

She jumped up and down. "You're so handsome! Roxaso is so lucky! I'm jealous!" she pouted.

"Maria…" Fredrico pulled her aside. "Why don't you continue cooking so Axelo can get settled?"

She nodded, and Fredrico walked Axel to a staircase.

"I'm sorry. She's not usually so… I don't even know what that was."

Axel ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah… I really hope she doesn't do that every time I come over…"

"So do I. Try to imagine your spouse saying how jealous they are of your son's boyfriend. Right in front of you."

"About that, Signore Fredrico… I'm not Roxas' boyfriend. I'm his best friend, but not his lover."

"Nonetheless, you're still very important to him and we accredit you for that. He's never smiled so brightly before. I think Maria was just so happy that Roxaso finally found someone to care about him, and apparently you're gorgeous. But if Roxaso is happy, we're supportive."

"Do you know about the orphanage's rule? About sixteen-year-olds?"

"That they take them away from foster families if they aren't adopted? Of course I know about that."

"What are you going to do? I… I really don't want to lose him… he means so much to me…"

Fredrico pointed to the stairs. "We can discuss this later. Roxaso has been downstairs for quite awhile. You should check on him."

* * *

Axel walked downstairs and saw a door with Roxas' name on it in colorful letters. He opened the door and suddenly felt his heart skip a beat. "Roxas?" he got down on his knees beside him and shook him gently. "Roxas? Roxas, wake up… Roxas?"

He rolled Roxas onto his back. His skin was deathly pale and he appeared to be having trouble breathing, his body trembling in small shudders.

"Roxas! Roxas, wake up! Fredrico! Fredrico, something's wrong with Roxas! Roxas! Roxas, stay with me, okay? Can you hear me? It's Axel. I'm here for you. Fredrico, hurry! It's okay, Roxas… don't go. Stay with me, Roxas. Nova misses you; you know… she seems so much happier when you're around… like she's being extra-beautiful, just for you… Stay with me, Roxas. Just keep listening to my voice. I'll get you through this… I'm here for you, Roxas…" Axel's fingers brushed aside the bangs from the boy's beautiful eyes. The redhead slipped off the glasses and placed them on a desk, holding Roxas' hand as he cooed reassuringly. "Keep listening to me, Roxas… Hang in there. Stay with me."

Fredrico entered the room with a bag with 'Roxas' embroidered on it. Fredrico checked his vitals, taking notes down on a chart with tons of writing on it already. "This is worse than I've ever seen him…"

"What? Is he going to be okay?"

"Yes, he just needs a higher dosage of the drug…" he carefully measured the contents in the syringe, looking back at Axel. "Keep talking to him. You're calming him down."

Axel nodded, giving Roxas' hand a comforting squeeze. "You know, Roxas… I really don't like Reno. He irritates me even more than Riku and his gang. I don't trust Reno. He made fun of Nova. Yesterday was the day we got Nova. You and I and her… we all still have our ribbons on. I love our beautiful daughter Nova. She's a lot like you, and I think we both like that about her. You like that you can relate to her, and I like how she's got the same beautiful quality you have."

Fredrico faltered. "Daughter?"

"Keep going, Fredrico. I'll explain later. Just help Roxas."

He nodded, and Axel turned to look wistfully at Roxas again. "You don't see it, Roxas… but you're beautiful. You're so unmistakably sweet and loving. I have never met anyone like you before, Roxas. You lit up my life. My days are so much brighter when you're around. You've made me so incredibly happy. Don't go, Roxas. Stay with me… you can hear me, can't you? I'm right here. I'm here for you, so please stay with me, okay?"

Fredrico injected the serum into Roxas' arm, looking up at the blonde's face expectantly. Color slowly returned to his skin and his breathing eased. Blue eyes slowly opened halfway and he smiled at Axel. "…h-hey…" his voice was hoarse.

"Roxas… You're alright…" Axel clutched his hand, tears running down his face. "I was so worried… Don't scare me like that again, okay?"

"…I'm…sorry…"

"Shh… semplicemente rilassarsi, Roxaso. You know you shouldn't talk immediately after you have the drug."

Roxas turned his head to Fredrico, nodding weakly. "…sì…papà…"

"Hush now. Axelo, could you lie him down on his bed? He needs to rest for a few minutes. Then he should be fine."

"Alright."

"And Axelo… would you step out into the hallway with me for a moment?"

Roxas' eyes slid shut as the door closed.

* * *

"What happened to him? Does this happen often?" he was in panic mode.

"Easy, now. It's a little soon to be telling you about this, but since you've witnessed it I can't really avoid the subject…" Fredrico took a deep breath. "Roxaso has… as early as his first time being sent back to the orphanage… had anxiety attacks. He… he has four types of anxiety: post-traumatic stress, panic, social, and general anxiety. Please don't think he's a bad kid because of it. He can't help that he's been through a lot of distress. You probably won't want to associate with someone who has something 'wrong' with them, but…"

"That's not true at all. I don't think any less of him because something terrible happened to him. It's not his fault. He's done nothing wrong, Mr. Auditore. I just want to protect him more now."

"What surprised me, Axelo… is that your speaking to him calmed him considerably. Something like that has never happened before. We've tried to cool him down, but you're the only one that he's ever listened to in a panic attack."

"I… I worry about him. I don't want him to be scared or hurt. When I saw him like that… I was petrified. I… I didn't know if he was going to wake up…"

"I felt the same way the first time it happened to us. Unlike you, however, we saw him break down from the beginning all the way to the point he collapsed. It was possibly the most frightening thing I had ever seen. Maria still starts to cry when she sees it happen."

"Roxas… is such a good kid… he shouldn't have had to go through all of this. Do you know why he was sent back before?"

Fredrico looked away. "If he hasn't told you himself, I have a feeling he doesn't want you to know. He confessed something to his families when he started to feel accepted, and none of them took it well. They all sent him back. We were the only ones that readily supported him the way he was. My sister is the only one that does not accept him for being the way he is, but she's easily overlooked most of the time. She's loud and mean, but has never actually hurt him. Everyone else is perfectly fine with Roxaso being himself with us. That's why he's so happy here. But he fears abandonment. He panics when we leave him home alone for awhile, because he thinks we won't come back for him. Roxaso… is a very loving boy when you earn his trust… the problem is that he dies a little inside whenever someone breaks that trust. Sometimes I wonder how much of him is still alive."

"Don't say that. He's more alive now than he's ever been. Just look at the way he smiles. Every day he seems happier. I just… hope that isn't all torn away from him."

"About this 'daughter' of yours…"

"Nova? Nova's our plant," Axel smiled. "Roxas and I found her on the rooftop garden and we ended up 'adopting' her. These ribbons… are to show that we're a family. Having Nova has made Roxas so much happier. I'm glad to see him like that."

Fredrico nodded slowly. "Alright. I was… worried for a minute."

Axel laughed. "Yeah, I figured. Don't worry. No real kids 'til we've tied the knot," the redhead teased.

"Though it may be a joke to you now, I'm holding you to that promise, Axelo," he smiled at him. "Roxas should be well enough to go now. Let's go get him."

* * *

The door opened, and Roxas was sitting up on his bed, arms resting on his knees and head leaning against them, a wistful expression on his face. He didn't look up at the sound of the door, as if he hadn't heard it, and seemed surprised when Axel's arm snaked around his waist.

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly.

"Axel…" Roxas leaned against his chest. "Better now, because you're here."

"I want to tell you something, and you need to always remember it, okay?"

"Okay."

"I'll never leave you. I'm always going to be here for you. You can count on it. Got it memorized?"

"Axel…"

"Roxaso. If you're feeling better, come have a glass of water and your pills. Then we can go out back to see the rest of the family."

"Can Axel carry me?"

"Sure, why not."

Axel lifted him princess-style and carried him up the stairs, into the kitchen where he sat him down on a chair.

"Maria, Roxaso needs to take his medicine."

She looked at Roxas worriedly, then back at her husband. "Another one?" she said in a hushed whisper.

"Yes. But it's over now. Get his medicine, please."

Maria brought a handful of different colored pills, tablets and capsules along with a glass of water. Axel watched in disbelief as Roxas put all of them in his mouth at once and drank the water. He couldn't imagine swallowing more than two Advil at a time, let alone who knows how many big pills Roxas had just ingested without batting an eyelash. She took the empty glass and placed it in the sink, feeling Roxas' forehead with the back of her hand and kissing her son's cheek softly.

"Mama…" Roxas looked at her and pointed to the fridge.

"Oh, that's right. I almost forgot. Thank you, Roxaso."

She went to the refrigerator and took out a dark-red juice in a special bottle with an 'R' on the cap. She poured a small amount into a plastic cup and gave it to him. Upon closer inspection, it looked somewhat thick, like watery syrup. Roxas downed it in one gulp, taking a wet paper towel from her and wiping his mouth of any traces. Axel furrowed his brow sadly. This kind of thing was so routine… how often did this happen to the poor kid?

"Roxaso, go get some saltines out of the closet. You should eat something or the pills could make you sick."

"Yes, Mama."

He ate a few, offering one to Axel. Axel gratefully took the cracker and ate it, just happy to be acknowledged amidst the routine where he felt so horribly useless and out of place. "Thank you, Roxas."

"Roxaso, everyone's outside. Take Axelo out back with you to see everyone. I'll be right there after I speak with your mother."

Roxas nodded, taking Axel's hand and leading him silently to the back door. Suddenly, Axel shoved Roxas against the wall and held him there, staring into his eyes despairingly. "You scared me you know. And now you aren't speaking to me. Talk to me, Roxas."

He opened his mouth, but closed it when he realized he had nothing to say.

"Roxas, please. Say something, anything. Just tell me that you're okay. Yell at me for not letting it drop. Call me an idiot. I don't care. Just don't ignore me, Roxas. Don't be silent. You worry me even more when you refuse to speak."

"A-axel… I… I'm sorry…"

"Just talk to me. Talk to me, Roxas, and I'll listen."

"I… I wish you didn't have to see me like that."

Axel ran his hand through Roxas' blonde spikes. "I'm not angry, I'm not upset, and I don't think badly of you for having anxiety. It's who you are, Roxas, and that's reason enough for me to accept it. I want to be able to accept you for being yourself, okay? You don't have to hide. I'm your best friend, and I think you're wonderful, no matter what. I want you to listen to me, and I want to listen to you."

"I heard you…"

"When?"

"When I was unconscious… I heard your voice…"

He smiled. "That's good. I hoped you would hear me. Fredrico said that you were calming down when I talked to you."

"I felt better… when I could hear you… I wasn't scared…"

Axel hugged him tightly. "You can always talk to me, and I'll always talk to you when you need me."

"Okay."

"Feel better?"

"Yes."

"Let's go then. I have to meet your family, after all."

Roxas smiled at him, returning the embrace. "I'm ready. Come on."

* * *

_**semplicemente rilassarsi, Roxaso.  
just relax, Roxas.**_

**The Italian in this chapter wasn't even necessary... Maybe I shouldn't have even put it there...**

**Axel uses his signature catchphrase for the first (and last?) time.**

_**-EDITED TO MENTION CLAUDIA'S ISSUES WITH ROXAS-**_

_**How will the family react to Axel? Will they squee over him like Maria? Or shun him like he expects? Or will they do something totally different?**_


	17. Miele ho Incontrato i Ragazzi

**Time to meet the family!  
_BTW: There is a reference to Detective Uncoded (A Detective Conan / Case Closed abridged series) with Jeff/Mitch. I couldn't remember Mitch's name so I started calling him Jeff, Shrub, Butch, Bob, anything but Mitch, especially when I found out his real name._**

BTW: Claudia is Ezio and Fredrico's sister in Assassins Creed 2. I made her a bitch.

**_BTW: Naomi and Aoyami are the children of Sou Tyo and Ireno Hirone in For Lack of a Better Name (FLoaBN)._**

BTW: Sou and Ireno are both men. Don't worry your pretty little head about it.

**_BTW: Axel makes a secret reference to his fantasy from chapter 2. See if you can find it!_**

**Italian spoken in this chapter. All translations will be provided for the Italian-impaired. Thank you.**

**-all translations provided at the bottom of the page to not deter from the story.-**

**Cassanova Italiano 17!**

* * *

"Uncle Mario…" Roxas tugged his sleeve. "Come with me, please…"

"Sure thing, Roxaso."

He led his uncle into the house and pointed to Axel. Mario's face lit up. "Axelo! So good to see you again, eh?" he hugged the redhead.

"Nice to see you too."

"Uncle Mario, I need you to help me introduce Axel to everyone…" he was starting to think this was a terrible idea. He pulled Mario closer to whisper nervously. "And Uncle Mario... la zia Claudia non è qui, è lei? Lei non sarà felice se lei incontra Axel nel contesto sbagliato... Sapete come si sente su di me..."

"Per quanto ne so, lei non è ancora arrivato. Siamo in grado di gestire la sua quando verrà il momento, quindi non preoccuparti. Come, Roxaso, Axelo, we can-a start with-a the kids."

Axel was led to a group of children playing on the grass. He sat with Roxas on a picnic table bench and watched them. "They're kinda cute, huh?"

"That's funny to hear the school manwhore say. That kids are cute…"

"Is it really that surprising? Believe it or not, I maybe want to have a kid or two of my own one day… just not now."

"Hm…" Roxas smirked. "That's interesting. I never took you to be the parenting type."

"I like kids. And recently… I've been thinking that being a dad… might be nice. I've never really thought about having kids on purpose until I met you. You kind of… snapped me into reality a bit. So now… now I think having kids would be nice. With the right person."

Roxas blushed. "Are you good with kids?"

"Dunno. Never tried. When I was old enough to start looking at children and thinking 'those are kids, I'm a teenager'… I was too wrapped up in my libido to really care about socializing with them. So I've never actually found out if I'm good with children."

"Now's as good a time as any, right?"

"Huh?" Axel looked up and watched Roxas walk over to the group of children, who promptly tackled the blonde to the ground excitedly. The redhead smiled as he watched Roxas laughing as he tried to stand up and run away, but a little brown-haired girl held up her arms, looking at him expectantly until the blonde relented and picked her up._ 'Would you look at that…'_

Roxas spoke to the little girl and pointed at Axel. She clapped her hands excitedly as Roxas put her down and she ran up to the surprised redhead.

"Will you come and play, Axo?" the way she said his name made Axel smile. It was cute. She tugged on his sleeve, looking up at him with big, golden-yellow eyes. "I'm Naomi! Roxis said you wanted to play but you're too scared. I'll protect you! Come on!"

'_Too scared? Roxas, you brat…'_ he chuckled. "Alright then."

Naomi excitedly introduced him to all the other kids, which seemed to vary in age from infants to seven-year-olds. She pointed to one child, that couldn't be more than a month or two old, with one glassy blue eye and one bright green one. "That's my baby brother! His name is Aoyami, and everyone calls him Ao, but I call him Yami!"

Axel saw the child reach up his hand to him, transfixed by his colorful appearance. He looked about to fall over, but Axel dropped to his knees and caught him. "Hey, be careful there, munchkin…" he picked the child up and smiled as Ao reached for his hair. "You like my hair?"

"Yami likes fingers, too!" Naomi cheered, looking at another one of the children, who looked about six years old. "Right, Jeff?"

The boy in question glared at her. "It's Mitch! My name is Mitch. I don't know why everyone keeps calling me Jeff, my name is MITCH!"

Naomi ignored him, and Roxas blushed slightly at the way Axel was smiling at the infant that was grasping one of the red spikes, not tugging like most babies would, just holding it in his small hands. Axel laughed softly. "He really is cute. How old is he?"

"Two months," Naomi held up two fingers. "Mama should feed him now, actually."

Axel handed the baby back to her, raising an eyebrow as he ran over to two men sitting together. One had brown hair and soft, chocolate-brown eyes, whereas the other looked slightly older, long hair pulled back in a ponytail as his arm was wrapped around the brunette's waist. The older smiled as Naomi approached, nudging the brunette, who took Ao and a bottle, quietly feeding the baby as Naomi hopped up onto the older man's lap. Naomi had his golden eyes, but her hair was the same shade as the younger male's. The baby bore resemblance to each of them in facial structure alone, but those eyes were entirely different.

"Roxas? That baby… his eyes…"

"Aoyami was born blind. Half-blind, really, but when he's older he'll lose his other eye too. It's sad, really…" Roxas muttered, not saying any more.

"Roxis! Come play some more! Axo too!" the children all said.

* * *

After awhile, Roxas realized that Axel had to meet the rest of the family, not just the kids. He gathered them around.

"So, what do you all think of Axel?" he asked.

"He's fun! He should come play more often!" a girl exclaimed, and the others seemed to agree with her.

Roxas turned to smile at his friend, who simply grinned right back at him. "Well, we have to go for now. Maybe he'll come over again sometime to play in the summer."

Jeff… Mitch, rather, piped up next. "We can go swimming!"

Another little girl sighed dreamily. "Axo's so handsome~"

A third one giggled. "Roxis should marry him! Then we can play all the time!"

Roxas and Axel blushed a deep crimson, looking at each other and away again when they made eye contact.

"That would be quite interesting," a woman spoke from behind them. The two boys spun around to face her. "I thought that when we found out we wouldn't have to deal with your problem anymore, Rox. It's bad enough that your stupid mother's family flaunts it like it isn't a big deal. There's something severely wrong with you, boy, and don't think that I'm going to even consider acknowledging—" she motioned to Axel with disgust, "—this_** thing **_as normal, just like I don't see how my brother could take you in when you aren't even right in the head. But then again, it's probably your slut of a mother and her family that corrupted him into thinking that whatever the hell _**you**_ are is supposedly okay. Because it's not. You aren't right, kid, and you'll never be a relative of mine!"

"Zia Claudia, you don't understand—" Roxas tried to defend.

"Don't even try to act like you know something I don't! You are a filthy creature, and you're lower than even street scum like that!" she jabbed a finger at Axel, who was scowling at her. "You disgust me!" Claudia smacked Roxas across the face, using her nails to leave deep cuts on the boy's face. Roxas got down on his knees in front of her.

"Please, zia Claudia…" his voice was so monotonous it was painful for Axel to hear. "I'm sorry that I am not what you want in a nephew, but please take back what you said about Mama!"

"That whore deserves every word of it! And don't dare call yourself my nephew! You're revolting!" she kicked Roxas in the chest so he fell onto his side. The boy did not cry, did not even make a sound of pain as he curled up in a ball to avoid further damage.

Axel couldn't stand for this anymore. He grabbed the woman by the wrists and glared into her now-fearful eyes. "Now you listen and listen well. You had no right to say what you did. You can insult me and beat me all you like, but I draw the line when you so much as sneer at Roxas. There is absolutely nothing wrong with him! You're the one that's messed up if you can look at someone who's been through more shit than you could ever imagine and still say that _**HE'S**_ the one with something wrong with him. Signora Maria is _**NOT**_ a whore; she's a kind and compassionate woman that cares about everyone, whereas you're a selfish bitch that can't even see something beautiful and fragile before your eyes. You don't fucking _**DESERVE**_ a relative as loving and trusting as Roxas! That boy is an _**ANGEL**_, and if anyone is low, it's someone who would not only hurt him verbally, but harm him physically too! You're a demon. A revolting, hateful **_demon_** and I swear that I will not tolerate you bringing harm to Roxas ever again. Stay away from him and don't you dare hurt him again!" Axel yelled, venom and spite dripping from his words. He released Claudia, shoving her away as he dropped to the ground beside Roxas.

"Someone get that monster out of here!" Claudia bellowed, but Axel ignored her, trying to clean Roxas up. He took off his sweatshirt and used it to wipe away the blood from his face. "Arrest him! Assault! He assaulted a woman! He's insane! He's a monster!"

"NO HE'S NOT!" a deep, throaty voice erupted. A man Axel had never seen before stood up. "This young man defended Roxaso when he could not stand up to your verbal abuse, Claudia! And now you have the gall to physically harm this boy? This has gone on long enough! You are the only one here that has not accepted him for who he is, and this is the end my tolerance for it! Does anyone agree with me?"

"I do," Mario stepped forward.

"So do we," the two men Axel had seen with Ao and Naomi stood up.

All the children bounced up and down. "Us too! Us too!"

Fredrico and Maria both nodded in approval.

Slowly, everyone stood and voiced their agreement, a few throwing in things like "What's wrong with you, Claudia?" "You have some nerve!" "How could you be so cruel to the boy?" "He's fine the way he is!" among the supporting words for Axel's bravery.

Claudia knew she was outnumbered and stomped her foot furiously. "You'll all be sorry! I'll see to it that you all pay for this!" she stormed off.

Axel pulled the injured Roxas into his lap. He looked around, baffled, as Roxas' family members all approached him to introduce themselves, ask his name, thank him for standing up for Roxas, and offer their support. Eventually, Fredrico dispersed them, saying dinner was almost ready and that he needed Axel to help clean Roxas up.

"Come on, Axelo. You've done Roxaso a favor standing up to her. I've tried telling her off myself, but she simply claims Maria's family has corrupted me. I'm very proud of you for defending him."

"He's important to me. I… I can't stand seeing anyone hurt him or make him upset."

Roxas groaned softly, shifting in Axel's arms as they reached the bathroom.

"Hey, Roxas… how're you feeling?"

"It hurts…"

"Hang in there. You'll be good as new in no time," Axel smiled at him warmly.

"Why did you… say those things to her?"

"I couldn't bear to see you hurt, Roxas. She was hurting you and scolding you when you haven't done anything."

"Thank you, Axel… you always stick up for me…"

"That's what friends are for."

Roxas sighed, wincing as Fredrico but the antibiotic on his cheek. "I wish that there was some way I could make it up to you. You never need anyone to help you…"

"You help me by smiling."

"How?"

"When you smile, I know I did something right. That's the best thing you can do for me. Just smile, okay? That way I'll be able to smile too."

Fredrico finished putting the bandages on his face. "Roxaso, unbutton your shirt so I can see where she kicked you."

Hesitantly, he complied, blushing slightly that Axel was still there. Fredrico frowned at his chest.

"That's going to be a pretty nasty bruise. I'll put a bit of cooling spray on it so it won't hurt as much."

Roxas nodded, shivering as his chest went numb from the cold spray on his skin. After a moment, he saw that Axel was looking away, blushing. The blonde yelped and blushed, closing his shirt when he saw that his nipples were erect. _'How embarrassing!'_

"Wash your hands and hurry into the dining room if you want to get your seats before it's too crowded," Fredrico closed the First Aid kit and put it away, completely disregarding the obvious embarrassment of the two boys.

Axel turned on the water, getting it to a good temperature before washing his hands, occasionally glancing over at Roxas, who was still crossing his arms over his chest and blushing. "You know, Roxas…" he muttered, drying his hands with a towel.

"Wh-what…?"

The redhead kissed his forehead and whispered into his ear, brushing his hand over Roxas' still-tense chest. "These _are_ kinda cute when they're so perky. I wonder what happens if I touch them a little?"

Blush deepening, Roxas hit his arm and shoved him out of the bathroom before washing his hands and trying to calm himself down. He finally succeeded, and silently led Axel to the dining room to sit.

* * *

**Well, there you have it. Teehee...**

**-_EDITED TO FIX DETAILS IN QUESTION_!-**

**_Zia = Aunt_**

**_"And Uncle Mario... la zia Claudia non è qui, è lei? Lei non sarà felice se lei incontra Axel nel contesto sbagliato... Sapete come si sente su di me..."  
"And Uncle Mario... Aunt Claudia is not here yet, is she? She will not be happy if she meets Axel in the wrong context... You know how she feels about me..."_**

**_"Per quanto ne so, lei non è ancora arrivato. Siamo in grado di gestire la sua quando verrà il momento, quindi non preoccuparti."  
"As far as I know, she hasn't arrived yet. We can handle her when the time comes, so don't worry about it."_**


	18. Per mancanza di un amante migliore

**Axel actually meets Sou and Ireno, and gets a man-to-man chat. It's funny. A manly chat about gay people. *sniggers***

**No Italian spoken in this chapter (if I recall correctly...). Lucky yous!**

**Cassanova Italiano 18! **

* * *

The family assembled at the tables, and Axel tried not to gape at just how many people there were. Not including the children, there were at least thirty adults here.

Dinner was uneventful apart from Axel being welcomed, introduced to and spoken with. He felt so out of place among so many people he had never seen before, and he couldn't see Roxas. The blonde was watching sadly from the corner of the table, feeling somewhat alone without his friend.

After dinner, everyone seemed to scatter throughout the main floor of the house, sitting and conversing with each other. Axel found Roxas and plopped down next to him on a bench on the back porch. "Hey stranger. Where did you go during dinner? I was lonely."

Roxas looked away. "I didn't want to get in the way of everyone talking to you…"

"Hey now… I still missed you…"

"I figured you'd be too preoccupied to notice."

He shook his head. "Never."

Axel noticed that he was sitting beside the long-haired guy, who was sitting adjacent to the brunette.

"Ireno, I'm going to change Aoyami and fill his bottle. Keep an eye on Naomi over there, okay?" the brunette said to the older man, Ireno.

"I think I can handle it, babe. Don't be gone too long," he kissed his lips softly. Axel suddenly had a feeling that there was something between these two.

"I love you."

"Love you too, Sou."

The brunette—Sou, he assumed—took the baby and exited the room. Axel stared down at his knees and tried to grasp what he had just seen. Two men… saying 'I love you' to each other… a gay couple? Is that what Claudia had been saying wasn't okay? Being gay? Then that would mean she thought Roxas was—

"Axel? Is something wrong?"

Axel jumped at the sound of his friend's voice. "Huh?" he turned around. "What was that?"

Roxas frowned. "Axel…" he stood up. "I… I'll be right back."

"I saw you looking, redhead," a voice said from beside him. Axel turned to face the gold eyes of the man beside him. "Which means one of two things. One, you've never seen gay people before, or two, you were checking out my husband," Ireno smirked. "I really hope it was the first one because Sou might get angry if you had been checking him out. I don't care either way, but he'll bitch at me all night if I let you get away with it."

"N-no… I was just surprised, that's all. You're… you're married to him? And is Yami yours?"

"Ao? You must have met Naomi. She's the only one that calls him that."

"Yeah… I was actually holding the baby earlier. He's cute…"

"To answer your questions, Sou's my husband. We've been married for two years now. And Ao is both of ours, as is Naomi. You'll understand when you're older, kid."

"I'm not a kid!"

"You're at least thirty years younger than me. That makes you a kid to me. The real point being, I would assume you're the same boy that was standing up for Roxas earlier, right?"

"That's right… I'm Axel…"

"Ireno. Last names aren't important, but mine's Hirone. So, you seem awfully interested in Sou and I. Are you questioning your sexuality? You're a late bloomer if you're only thinking about it now."

"I like women, thank you! I mean… I've only slept with women… A lot of women…"

"Ah, a little heartbreaker? I was the same way. But the right person can bring out the best and worst in you. Gender has nothing to do with it when you fall in love. I'm generally not the sappy romance type, but I'll admit honestly that I love Sou. Because I really do."

Axel sighed. "You say you were just like me… but did you know right away that you had been wrong before?"

Ireno chuckled. "No way. I felt a little spark when I met him, but I completely ignored it. I've known Sou for twenty-some-odd years, and it was only a little while ago that I actually came to terms with being in love with him. It's not an instantaneous thing. You deny it, you cheat, you cut corners, but eventually you end up right where you started… with the same person you started with… but you know for sure by then."

"Not the sappy romance type?"

"It's true. That doesn't count as sappy romance."

The redhead chuckled. "Thanks."

"Ireno, can you hold Ao for awhile, honey?" Sou suddenly reappeared. "I want to be able to let Naomi play some more, but I need to convince her to take her inhaler."

"Sure thing, babe."

"Thank you," Sou handed him the infant.

Aoyami saw Axel and reached out his arms to him. Ireno smirked. "He likes you, I take it. Want to hold him?"

"Sure."

Axel took the baby and smiled. Ao was once again mesmerized by his vibrant red hair. Even for a child half-blind… anyone had to admit that the color of Axel's hair was not easily overlooked.

The infant took hold of one of his spikes again, nuzzling into Axel's shoulder and closing his eyes.

Ireno chuckled warmly. "He really does like you if he fell asleep on you. Do you want me to take him?"

"No… it's fine… I'll let him sleep."

Sou returned and smiled at the sight. "You're Axel, aren't you?"

Axel looked up. "Yeah. You're Sou, I take it."

He nodded. "Look at how peaceful he's sleeping… You must have a good heart. As much as I hate to take him away, I really need to put him down for his nap. Even though he looks comfortable, it's decently noisy out here and he won't get enough rest."

The redhead smiled understandingly. "He's got my hair, though."

Sou gently pried Ao's hand open, freeing the spike from his grasp before taking the baby and going inside.

Roxas watched the scene play out from behind a tree he was leaning against. Axel was going to find out… and that was the only thing on his mind.

* * *

The sun began to set, and Axel finally found Roxas again. He backed him into a corner and tried to meet his gaze, but failed.

"Where do you keep disappearing to?"

"Around… I need to see everyone else at some point you know…" he replied, a bit crueler that necessary.

"Ouch… Sorry for wondering where my best friend is. It would be one thing if you were only gone for a little while, or you told me where you were going, but you've been running off for a half hour at a time at most, and then you only come back for a minute or two before running off again. You know I worry about you, Roxas."

The blonde boy shook his head. "I figured you'd be too busy."

"Roxas, what's gotten into you? I'm never too busy for you. You're the reason I'm here in the first place! You are a thousand times more important than anyone else here, alright? I get the feeling you're avoiding me on purpose. Ever since the incident with Claudia…"

"It's fine, okay? Just leave me alone!" Roxas pushed him away and ran a few steps before his wrist was caught.

"What the hell is the matter with you all of a sudden? If you're mad at me, just say so! Don't leave me in the dark like this!"

"I'm just facing _**reality**_, Axel!" he snapped. "Something you don't have to worry about because you _**HAVE**_ parents! Even if you don't live with them, even if they don't love you, you still _**HAVE**_ them! You don't have to spend your birthday worrying about an _**ORPHANAGE**_ coming to _**TAKE YOU AWAY**_! I don't want to go back for a reason! But there's nothing I can do about it!"

Axel growled and pulled Roxas into an embrace. "You know you could have just _**SAID**_ something, you idiot. I care about you and I want to know when you're upset so I can help you! Roxas… Roxas, you mean the world to me. This is my problem too, you know. Even if they aren't trying to take me, they're trying to take you away from me and I don't want that to happen. Fredrico might adopt you if you ask…"

"I can't just ask to be adopted, Axel. If they don't want me then there's nothing I can do about it. They know about the rules, so if they aren't taking action then they don't care if I'm sent back."

"They_ do _care about you, Roxas. Fredrico and Maria have done everything in their power to make you happy. I won't believe for even a second that they don't love you."

Fredrico's voice suddenly called. "Roxaso! Axelo! In the kitchen, please!"

They looked at each other nervously as they walked towards their destination, and possibly Roxas' ultimate fate.

* * *

**…Will Roxas be adopted? Or will he be taken away forever? We may never know... if I don't get around to writing it.  
MOTIVATE ME! REVIEWZ!**


	19. Orfani adottabili! Destino finale?

**Well, here you go. It exists. Best part is: So does the next one! That'll be up soon.**

* * *

"Roxaso, Maria and I have something important to discuss with you," Fredrico looked at the blonde boy. "And Axelo should hear it as well."

Roxas nodded slowly. The four of them sat down at a smaller table in the kitchen that the family generally used for small meals with a few people or eating alone, Axel sitting beside Roxas, across from the two adults. Maria looked nervous, which worried Axel. Why was she so panicky?

"Today you turned sixteen… and the orphanage called us a few minutes ago."

Roxas' eyes grew wide. _'They called already? Why? Why do they want me back so badly?'_

Maria looked at him. "We are aware of the policy in place for your situation with adoption… and we are fairly certain you don't want to return to the orphanage."

The blonde nodded, restraining tears. Just the thought of the other times they came to get him made him shudder. They grew more violent as he grew older. The last time they had broken his wrist because he was struggling.

* * *

"_Come on, Roxas. You're leaving now," they grabbed his arm._

"_No! I don't want to go back! Don't make me go back, mother!" he turned despairingly to his foster parents. "Please! Mother! Father! Do something!"_

'_Father' shook his head, scowling. "You're no son of mine."_

_The dog barked, as if trying to scare away the stranger in his house and protect Roxas, who he still saw as his master. Dogs don't judge sexuality._

"_Kiroko, shut up, you stupid dog! Stop barking!" 'Father' shouted at the golden retriever. This didn't hinder Kiroko, it fueled his barks. He shoved past 'Mother' and grabbed Roxas' shirt with his teeth, trying to pull his master away from the person holding him._

_Roxas flailing, trying to break free as he was led to the car, viola case hidden where the worker wouldn't notice it, as Kiroko was held back by the collar, barking loudly._

"_Roxas, stop thrashing!"_

"_No! I won't let you take me back! I won't go with you! No!"_

_They suddenly snapped his wrist backwards, a searing pain running up his arm as he heard the bone snap. He was shoved into the car before he could even voice his pain._

_His wrist was broken in two places, and the worker had argued he had fallen out of a tree, threatening Roxas that he would be hurt worse if he claimed otherwise. So he sat there in silence as they fixed him, didn't say a word as he lived with the cast on his arm, refused to make a peep when they told him he was all better. He didn't speak until the day the Auditore's took him home. Even then, he only voiced a nearly-silent "Thank you."_

* * *

Memories like that one haunted his dreams almost every night, making him wake up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily, taking him at least ten minutes to grasp the reality of where he was and why.

"But Maria and I don't want you to go back either. We're willing to make a deal with you."

"A… deal?" Roxas looked up, eyes clouded with swirling emotions.

"That's right. We want you in our family, and we will adopt you under five conditions."

The boy simply tilted his head, not fully registering what was going on.

"First, we would like for you to take our last name. You still have the name from your first family, and I'm pretty sure that it still bothers you to have it anyway."

Axel thought about it for a moment. Roxas never actually told him what his last name was. He never wrote it on his papers in school, it wasn't on anything he owned, not even his viola case. Everything was always just 'Roxas', nothing else. That would explain why.

"Second, Mario wants you to work at the restaurant on Sundays. Saturdays he requests you help at closing time to clean up. In return, you and Axelo are welcome to eat dinner there whenever you want, on the house."

That made sense. It was a family restaurant, so it was really a symbol of being part of the family. Axel kind of felt good about himself for being included in the benefits of this deal, apart from just being able to have Roxas stay.

"Third, you are to always think of yourself as a part of this family, and never listen to anyone that tries to tell you otherwise. That includes Claudia. I will straighten her out when I get the chance. Being part of a family means accepting people for who they are because you love them. She'll have to learn that."

Roxas had stopped hoping to be part of an actual family by this point. And now he was being given the opportunity to actually become a real kid with parents and a best friend. It was surreal.

"Fourth," Maria said. "Don't be afraid to bring friends over. I simply adore Axelo. He's so cool!" she smiled. "And don't forget to contact us when you go places."

Just when Axel had thought Maria was finished going fangirl over him…

"Fifth and finally…" Fredrico closed his eyes. "Know that you can tell us everything and anything. We're here for you and we want you to be happy and smile. Be yourself, and don't be afraid of what other people think. You're the best son we ever could have asked for, Roxaso."

'Son'… Roxas suddenly registered everything at once with that one word. No one had ever called him their 'son'. That was a word for children with parents. A word for non-orphans. It finally hit him.

He wasn't going back.

Roxas' eyes welled up in tears and they ran down his cheeks like a river.

He wasn't going back to the orphanage. He wasn't going to be taken away from his family… or from Axel. He was going to be adopted.

"But this is all up to you, Roxaso. Do you want to be adopted and become part of this family? Do you want to stay with us?"

_"…yes," _he whispered.

"What was that?"

Roxas looked up and smiled. "Yes!" he exclaimed.

Fredrico and Maria looked at each other with a sense of accomplishment. Axel suddenly felt Roxas embrace him. He blushed, looking down at his friend. Axel gently ran his fingers through the boy's hair. "I'm glad you're staying, Roxas. I would have missed you if you left me like that."

Fredrico stood. "We have paperwork to do, then. Axelo, why don't you take him outside for some fresh air?"

Axel nodded. "Come on, Roxas…"

* * *

**Yippee! But is it OVER? *dramatic music* Well, let's just focus on the amazing next chapter! *excited***

_**Reviews are love for these words that make them have babies! That's where new chapters come from. *stork pecks keyboard***_


	20. Primo bacio! Uh oh! Lui lo sa!

**This chapter contains Axel _TRYING_ to speak Italian. Translation at the bottom of the page. Trust me, if you try to Google Translate it, you'll get nowhere.**

* * *

Axel led Roxas to the side of the house, somewhat obscured from view by the shadows. He smiled at how the boy's face lit up as he watched the sunset.

"Axel… I've never been so relieved in my life. I'm not going to lose you… I'm not going to lose my family…"

"Roxas."

"Yeah?" he turned to him and was pulled closer by Axel's hands on his waist. His face turned bright red. "What is it, Axel?"

"All week I've been trying to figure out how I was supposed to say this. I don't know if I'll say it right, but I really hope I can get my point across."

"Alright."

"Roxas… Buon compleanno, Roxaso... Maggio I... b-bac-yo... voi?" he stumbled on his Italian.

Roxas giggled. "No," he reached his arms up to wrap them around Axel's neck. "But you can kiss me," he whispered.

Axel blushed, pulling Roxas flush against him as he leaned down, capturing his lips in his own. It was possibly the tenderest kiss Axel had ever experienced, and he was almost lightheaded because of the butterflies in his stomach. After a moment, they moved their lips in sync with each other, pulling apart and kissing again, each second bringing their bodies closer to each other. Axel nibbled on Roxas' lower lip, coaxing a small gasp from the younger boy. He chuckled at the adorable sound, letting his lips wander slightly from Roxas' to trace butterfly kisses up his jawbone to his ear. "I take it I got my point across, then?"

The blonde smiled, snuggling against Axel's warm body. "Yeah. I didn't even need a translator. Axel… you have no clue how much I wanted that…"

"I think I have a rough idea…" he kissed him again, softly and lovingly. "Was that an accurate guess?"

"Close, but not quite. Oh, Axel… I'm so happy… you have no idea…" he sighed.

"Roxas… why didn't you tell me you're gay?"

He gasped, pulling back and looking away. "Wh-what? Who told you?"

"I figured it out on my own. But, you know, that's generally something you would tell your best friend about. I'm kind of hurt that you didn't trust me enough to let me know."

"I was afraid… that you would leave me. I'm not right. I… I'm not normal. You would abandon me like everyone else…"

"Roxas, I'm not like everyone else. You should know that by now. And why does that make you not right? Is that the reason your other families sent you back?"

He nodded. "It's not normal to be this way. I should like girls… shouldn't I?"

Axel shook his head. "Who you like isn't the problem, Roxas. It's the people who told you that there's something wrong with you for being who you are. I don't think there's a single inch of you that's not perfect and beautiful."

"You say that, but you're the guy that sleeps with nearly any female you come in contact with. How would you know?"

"I've only slept with women, yes. I find women attractive, yes. But I'm not going to shun you because you aren't exactly like me. I like you because you're different. You have a fire in your heart."

Roxas turned to look at him, to search for insincerity, but all he was met with was Axel's lips on his forehead. "Axel…"

"I like you just the way you are."

The blonde reached up again and they kissed. Roxas pulled away for a moment, looking at the confused Axel, who seemed upset that they had stopped. "Axel… I'm glad that you were my first kiss," he pecked his cheek. "I hope that you'll be my only one. No one else could make me smile the way you do…" the boy pulled Axel into another kiss.

'_Roxas… you're so beautiful.'_

* * *

_**"Happy birthday, Roxas... May I... [Axel meant to say 'kiss']... you?"  
"Buon compleanno, Roxaso... Maggio I... b-bac-yo... voi?"**_

**They finally kissed! *squee*  
Reviews are cotton candy to fuel my words!**


	21. Incubo, Dormire insieme

**Ah, fanservice. And dead bodies. Good times.**

**The part within the **-hyphens-** in BOLD and **_Italics_** is the robotic voicemail lady. The part within the **-hyphens-** in **_Italics_** is Axel's voice over the phone.**

**ITALIAN! You know the drill.**

_

* * *

_

__

The

blonde happily rushed to the door the next morning when he heard the knocking. "Hi, Axel!"

"Roxas, it's time to get going."

"Wh-what?" he took a step back.

"You're coming back to the orphanage with us."

"What? No! I'm not an orphan anymore! Fredrico said—"

"You mean him?" the hand pointed to a bloody body against the wall.

"PAPA!" Roxas shrieked, running into the kitchen. "Mama, Papa is—"

**Another body.**

Roxas ran to his cell phone, calling Axel. "Axel! Axel, pick up!"

_**-You've reached the voice mail of **__**1-492-138-5329…-**_

"Axel!" tears were running down his face as a hand grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back until he heard the bones snapping… "AXEL! AXEL, HELP ME!"

* * *

_**-"AXEL!"-**_

* * *

"Axel!" Roxas shot up in bed, breathing heavily. "Axel…" he ran to his phone and called him.

_-Hello?-_

"Axel! Thank god… you're alright…"

_-Why wouldn't I be? Is something wrong, Roxas?-_

"I just had a nightmare, that's all."

_-Are you alright? Do you want me to come over? I will if you want me to, Roxas.-_

"Really?"

_-Yeah. Give me twenty minutes, tops.-_

"Thank you so much…"

_-I'll see you soon.-_

He hung up and ran up the stairs to Maria and Fredrico's room. "Mama! Papa!"

Maria sat up. "Roxaso, cosa c'è di sbagliato?" she shook her husband. "Fredrico, svegliati."

"Che c'è?" he grumbled.

"Io ... ho avuto un incubo ... Axel può venire?"

"Certo, il miele. Qualunque cosa ti fa sentire meglio," Maria smiled warmly. "Buona notte."

Roxas nodded and went back downstairs. There was a knock on the door and he jumped, trying not to go into panic mode. He looked out the window and confirmed the red spikes, sighing with relief. Roxas opened the door and embraced him. "Axel…"

"Shh… it's alright. Come on. Let's go to your room and you can tell me about your nightmare, okay?"

* * *

"Mn…" Roxas gave off a small groan as he stirred. He opened his eyes and saw Axel sleeping peacefully beside him. He blushed, hand roaming over Axel's bare chest. "Axel…" he whispered. "Wake up…"

Axel slowly moved, loosening his muscles before opening his emerald-green eyes to look at Roxas. He smiled, kissing his forehead. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty."

He giggled, cuddling closer to Axel's body for a moment before sitting up and getting out of bed.

The redhead followed suit, throwing on a shirt and changing into jeans he had brought with him while Roxas took out his clothes for the day, setting them out on the bed. Axel sighed, flopping back down onto the bed. "No more nightmares last night, I take it? Did I scare them all away?" he smirked.

"You wish you were that tough, don't you? But no, I didn't have another bad dream."

Roxas stared at the clothes for a minute, unsure what to do. Axel turned his head and opened his eyes. "Are you going to change or not? You can't go to school in your PJs. Don't gawk at the clothes, put them on!"

The blonde was still trying to contemplate if he was comfortable changing in front of Axel… especially when he might see his arms and leg…

"You don't need me to undress you, do you? Because we might be late to school if you make me do that," he teased.

"Your sex jokes aren't funny, Axel!" Roxas blushed, unbuttoning his pajama shirt and closing his eyes as it fell to the floor.

"Roxas! Where did you get those?" Axel was at his side right away, inspecting the markings on his arms. "Who gave you these scars?"

He assumed Axel said _'who gave you these scars'_ instead of_ 'how did you get these scars'_ because he wanted someone tangible to kick the crap out of.

"My… my second family was homophobic… when they found out about my sexuality, they beat me. My arms got all cut up and they told the orphanage that I did it to myself, and they said that they couldn't deal with my depression and irrational self-harm."

Roxas put on his normal shirt and tried to change into his pants without Axel noticing, but he ended up falling into him because of his terrible balance. Axel traced his hand over the burn on Roxas' right shin. "Was this them, too?" he whispered.

"No. That was…a motorcycle. The metal burned my leg when I got too close …" *

Axel furrowed his brow. "Finish getting dressed. I'll be waiting in the car."

Roxas nodded, standing back up as Axel left the room.

'_Not a single inch of me that isn't perfect… Do you regret saying that, Axel?'_

* * *

_**"Roxaso, what's wrong?" "Fredrico, wake up."**_  
_**"Roxaso, cosa c'è di sbagliato?" "Fredrico, svegliati".**_

_**"What is it?"**_  
_**"Che c'è?"**_

_**"I… I had a nightmare… can Axel come over?"  
"Io ... ho avuto un incubo ... Axel può venire?"**_

_**"Sure, honey. Whatever makes you feel better."**_  
_**"Certo, il miele. Qualunque cosa ti fa sentire meglio."**_

_**You should know by now what "Buona Notte" means. That's chapter 5 stuff!**_

* * *

_*No joke, this happened to me in second grade. The bus came immediately after so I limped onto the bus and collapsed on the grass when I got to school, then was sent by the school nurse to the ER. The only reason I got on the bus was because my mom yelled at me the day before for missing the bus. I panicked, and chose letting my flesh burn away over being yelled at. Ah, being an 8-year-old…_

**And no. Alas, they did not have sex last night. I know you are all very disappointed.**


	22. Sii il mio ragazzo!

**THE RETURN OF THE ...something-or-other... Erika shows up. That is all.**

**Oh yeah. Bad language. You've been warned!**

* * *

"Hey there, Roxy-baby…" Reno purred, pulling him aside.

Roxas felt his stomach lurch. He wasn't really starting to grow wary of Reno, but he had almost stolen his first kiss! He had a right to be angry.

"You don't look happy to see me. That hurts, Roxas. Did something happen with Axe-head?"

Roxas pulled out of his grasp. "His name is AXEL and it's none of your business!"

The redhead wasn't taking that as an answer. He pulled Roxas back to him, grazing his teeth over his neck as they trailed up to his ear. "Did you sleep with him?"

"What? No!" he shoved him off. "We didn't do anything like that!"

"But you want him to fuck you, right?" he murmured. "You're a dirty little fag, aren't you? If you want to be fucked, spend an hour in the streets. They'll eat up a little thing like you, because that's just what you want, isn't it?

"No it's not!" he argued. "I don't want to have sex with anybody! Especially not Axel! So stop trying to say that I do!"

"I'm sure he'd be crushed if he heard you say that. Unfortunately, it looks like he did…" he pointed to the redhead that had his back turned to them as he walked away briskly. "Oh well. If nothing is going on between you two, which by the looks of it is only half-true… then I have nothing more to say. Make sure you tell me when he finally gets into your pants. Oh, and you can contact me any time if you need a favor. I'll do anything for the right price. Later, yo."

Roxas took a step forward to head to class when he felt something in his shirt. "A piece of paper?" he read it. "This is Reno's number. Should I throw it away? No… I might need it eventually. I'll just program it into my phone later."

* * *

'_Especially not me? Does he hate me that much? Then why did he want me to kiss him? Just because he's gay doesn't mean he can kiss any guy he feels like kissing and claim it's hormones! No! It doesn't work like that. He has to have some kind of feelings for me. Even if he's just attracted to me, there's still got to be something there! But why do I care? I shouldn't give a damn if he wants to sleep with me or not, because I'm straight and he's a guy! Damn it! Maybe he does think it works that way. I mean… Reno was being awfully touchy-feely with him too, and they don't have any sort of chemistry together. Or maybe I'm just thinking they don't because I'm jealous. Gah! Why the fuck would I be JEALOUS?'_

"Axel, wait!"

He spun on his heel. "What?" he snapped.

The girl flinched back. "I'm sorry…"

"Oh. Erika. How are you? It's been awhile," he smiled softly. "Sorry about that."

She smiled. "It's good to see you again, Axel. I'm here concerning the plant you bought from the nursery. You have over ten dollars in change. That's far too much."

"No, I don't want the money. Thanks anyway. You can keep it yourself, Erika. Did you ever get that yukata you had your eye on last spring?"

"Ah, no… But I'm getting there. Soon I should have enough money."

"Put the change towards that. I still remember how cute it looked on you when you tried it on. Maybe you'll have enough for it in time for the school festival this year."

Erika nodded. "Thanks, Axel. There's one more thing I'd like to tell you about that plant, however. It _is_ fairly older than the others, so it may not bloom again next year."

"Thanks, Erika. It really was nice seeing you again. I missed the sound of your voice."

"You've always been so sweet. I have to go now, but I'll see you around, okay?"

"Sure."

She pulled him down and kissed him lightly on the lips before waving and rushing off. Axel put his fingers to his lips. Somehow… that didn't feel as nice as he remembered…

* * *

Roxas followed Axel until he saw him talking to a pretty girl with short, dark-green hair. The pair was smiling as they conversed. They appeared to be ending their conversation, but the girl suddenly pulled Axel down and kissed his lips before running off. Axel didn't move, didn't react… and Roxas grabbed his arm and dragged him up to the rooftop.

* * *

"Roxas, what's gotten into you?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Were you jealous of Erika? I thought I told you about her."

"You didn't tell me that she was still allowed to KISS you!" Roxas hissed. "Even I thought you were less of a slut than that! I can't believe I let you take my first kiss. I… I can't deal with you! I never know what's going on! I'm always so confused…"

"Roxas, do you think you're the only one who feels like they don't know what's going on? What's going on between you and Reno? I wish you would tell me things like this!"

"There IS nothing between me and Reno!"

"You didn't seem too upset when he was putting his paws on you!"

"You didn't seem too upset when Erika was putting her _lips_ on _you_!"

"She surprised me! I didn't know she was going to kiss me!"

"Which is why you let her get away with it?"

"Roxas," Axel shoved him against the door. "This is getting us nowhere. Let's calm down and talk about this. I don't want to fight."

Roxas took a moment to relax. "Okay."

"Now Roxas, I need you to tell me exactly what it is that you want. I can't figure out what's happening unless you tell me what you expect from me. I'll keep screwing up if you don't make yourself clear right here and now."

He took a deep breath. "Axel… I need… I need to know what I am to you. Do you like me? Are you using me? Am I just a friend? I don't know how you feel about me, and it's making me a wreck."

Axel took Roxas' glasses off and looked into the swirling blue pools of emotion. "I don't know anymore, Roxas. I don't know what I want from you, or why. I just know that I want to see you happy. I want to know that you're living life every day as something to be cherished. I'll be anything you want, Roxas, anything to make you smile. You just need to ask. I'd throw away my life for you. I don't know why, but I would, and I wouldn't hesitate."

Roxas took his face in his hands and pulled him into a gentle kiss. Time seemed to go in slow motion and their lips softly pressed against each other's mouth, closing and opening, parting and refueling. It was such a beautiful feeling. Roxas felt butterflies well up in his stomach, and his body was tingling with emotion. He couldn't pinpoint the feeling, but he knew it was something wonderful.

Axel pulled away and looked in his eyes again. "Just tell me what you want."

"I want… I want you to… be my boyfriend."

"Anything for you, Roxas…" he kissed his new lover once more. "Anything."

* * *

**-END OF PART ONE-**

* * *

**Aww! That only took… twenty-something chapters! Taking it that slow has left me drowsy! So many perfect opportunities kept popping up for random making out! So MANY!**

**Yay Erika!**

**Yeah, generally, every woman Ax has ever slept with finds it perfectly suitable to openly flirt with him and kiss him. It's not like there's anyone to get _jealous_... until now...**

**REVIEWS ARE CANDY! THIS CHAPTER MARKS THE END OF PART ONE!**


	23. End of Part One: Chapter Guide

**The following are the translations of the chapter titles in Part One.**

* * *

1. The Lover, The Monster

* * *

2. Family Restaurant

* * *

3. Feared Father

* * *

4. Listen!

* * *

5. Date of Gifts! The Text Message!

* * *

6. Really Seven! Incident Alley

* * *

7. Monday Morning

* * *

8. Carrot Sticks and Bent Rulers

* * *

9. Musical Proposition~ Piano Viola

* * *

10. The Music Is Not For The Bullies! Redhead 2!

* * *

11. Thief! Plants on the Roof!

* * *

12. Pay the Price of a Promise

* * *

13. Call for Safety

* * *

14. Our daughter, the plant

* * *

15. Anxiety Attack

* * *

16. Here for you, my dear

* * *

17. Honey I Met The Kids

* * *

18. For Lack of a Better Lover

* * *

19. Adoptable Orphan! Ultimate Fate Sealed?

* * *

20. First Kiss! Uh-oh! He knows!

* * *

21. Nightmare, Sleeping Together

* * *

22. Be my boyfriend!

* * *

**23. END PART ONE. Chapter guide (That's this!)**


	24. Il giorno volò

**This is the beginning of the SECOND part.**

* * *

Roxas stepped out onto the porch and smiled at Axel, who was leaning against the railing. "Oh! Good morning!"

"Morning, sunshine," Axel pecked his forehead. "You're in a good mood today."

"Of course I am! I didn't get to see you yesterday because we both had to work. And my phone was dead so I left it at home to charge."

"That explains why you didn't answer any of my texts. I thought you forgot about me and ran away to elope with some guy from another country."

"What the hell would give you that idea?"

He smirked. "You can get pretty imaginative when you're bored and lonely without your cute little blonde lover to keep you company."

Roxas rolled his eyes and got into the backseat of Axel's car. It was purely habitual now. Axel said he liked having his Miss Daisy in his rearview mirror. They didn't mind having a seat between them. The two of them weren't clingy lovers that couldn't stand to be two inches away from each other. They were perfectly content with their situation the way it was.

"What are you doing after school today, dove?"

"From the tone of your voice I think I'm going to be spending time with you."

"Good answer."

The blonde giggled. Axel was a surprisingly good boyfriend. They way he had acted in the past made Roxas doubtful of his relationship qualities, but so far, Axel had been nothing but sweet and caring. Axel pulled into the school lot and parked, getting out and opening Roxas' door for him.

"After you, Miss Daisy."

"After a kiss, my imperfect gentleman," he teased, pulling Axel down to meet his lips. A moment passed and they parted, Axel pecking his forehead before stepping back to let Roxas out of the car.

* * *

The day went by far too fast. Roxas was baffled by the sweet little gestures of affection he received throughout the day. Axel secretly held his hand under the lunch table; they sat on the rooftop ledge and cuddled, and he received a few cute texts during orchestra saying things like -miss u- and -*kiss*-. The redhead knew how to make him smile.

The day most certainly went by too fast.

* * *

***sings morbid version of "here comes the bride"* Here comes the drama... With a helping of trauma...**


	25. Immaginate il nostro futuro, Otto

**I like this chapter. Possibly the most of all!**

* * *

"Axel?" he looked around the dark classroom for his boyfriend. Someone had cut the power to the lights, probably some pranksters, so the only light were the emergency lights and what the sun was sending in through the windows, which still left the building pretty dark. "He was here just a minute ago…"

He was grabbed around the waist from behind and his mouth was covered. Roxas thrashed, trying to scream. The person holding him shushed him. "Roxas, stay still and shut up! It's me!" they hissed in his ear.

'_Axel?'_

"We have to get you out of here. Now. They're looking for you."

'_Who?'_

"The orphanage refuses to let you be adopted. Apparently they've literally sold you. If we let them find you, who knows where the hell you'll end up?"

'_Sold?'_

"Your mother just called me and told me they're going to come looking for you here. I have to get you somewhere safe. Just until this is sorted out."

'_This is why people hate Mondays!'_

"You need to promise you'll stay perfectly silent when I uncover your mouth," Axel didn't wait for a reply, taking Roxas by the hand and leading him like a secret agent through the hallways, staying in the shadows and remaining fully aware of their surroundings. Roxas could somewhat imagine spy music running through Axel's head as he moved. Mission Impossible, maybe.

The redhead successfully smuggled the boy out of the building and to his car. Roxas got into the backseat.

"Get down. We don't want anyone to see you."

"Where are we going?" Roxas asked after they had been on the road for awhile.

"As much as I hate to do this… we're going to my parent's house. They'll put you up as long as they're able to tolerate my presence. It won't last very long, but it's a safe place a good distance away from where you would be in danger. My parents may hate me, but they aren't heartless. They'll keep you safe. It helps that you're cute, too."

A little while later, Roxas giggled.

"What's so funny?"

"In theory, you're bringing me to meet your parents. We've been dating for three days."

Axel smirked at this. "Well, you're a keeper, I suppose," he joked.

"Are you going to ask for their blessing on our future together?"

"If I can get out more than a few sentences of dialogue to them… then sure, why not."

"How many kids will we have?"

"Eight," he replied without hesitation.

"Eight? Why so many? I don't think I'd be able to manage eight kids."

"I… I don't know where that came from… That was weird. It's like I've been ready to answer that question my whole life. But yeah… I guess my answer is eight. What about you?"

Roxas thought about it. "Hm… I would say somewhere from 1 to 3… then I might consider more."

"Maybe after the third one I'll convince you for five more. Then we'll both be happy."

"I'm not having eight kids, Axel. That's way too many. You've lost your mind."

He chuckled. "Will we have any pets then?"

"I kind of want a golden retriever. Named Kiroko…"

"Let's have a black and white cat too. Why Kiroko?"

Roxas leaned his head back. "My fourth family had a dog. When the orphanage came to take me back… Kiroko tried to save me. That dog was the first one to ever stand up for me. The first thing that ever loved me. I loved Kiroko…"

Axel sighed. "We'll get it as a puppy. That way it will love you all its life."

"Look at us. We're acting so serious about this. We've only known each other for a little over two weeks and we're planning our little house in the suburbs with a dog and a white picket fence…"

"Picket fence? I don't want a picket fence. We should have a force field!"

"I'm destined to have children with an idiot."

"I'm just saying that fences are overrated," Axel shrugged. "People with fences are just trying to hide the fact that their lawn looks like crap. If you have a nice yard, show it off!"

"I take it you'll see to it that we have a lawn worth bragging about?"

"You've got the idea, baby."

"Good. That means you're in charge of house training the dog~!"

"What? You want the dog, not me! I want the cat!"

"It's your cat or your pretty yard, Axel. Which do you want to be able to brag about: a nice cat or a nice lawn?"

"You play dirty, don't you? Maybe I don't want you to have my eight kids!" Axel growled.

"I never wanted your eight kids in the first place!" Roxas snapped back.

"Good! I'll find someone else that wants my kids!" he hissed.

"Fine!"

They sat in silence for a moment before Axel started laughing.

"What?"

"We just built up an imaginary future with all the little details, then it ended in an imaginary divorce."

Roxas burst into giggles. "I guess our future isn't too promising, huh?"

"No…" Axel pouted playfully. "I'm sorry, baby! Take me back!"

"Do I still have to have your eight kids?"

"Of course you do!" Axel declared.

The blonde smiled. "Eight it is, then."

* * *

**What a cute little future!**


	26. Incontro genitori del mio amante

**Roxas meets Axel's parents, and there is sweet cuteness...**

**Warning. naughty posters.**

* * *

"Mom, Dad, this is my friend Roxas. Someone's trying to hurt him—"

The man growled. "Someone who isn't you?"

"Yes, Dad. Someone who isn't me! Isn't it shocking that someone would dare try to take my place as the biggest disgrace on the planet?" Axel hissed back. "As I was saying, he needs somewhere safe to take refuge. I'll take care of him, and I won't show myself unless it's absolutely necessary. For two days maximum, I need to stay in my old room."

The woman looked Roxas over. "Is it safe to leave him alone with you?"

"Axel slept over my house a few days ago. It will be fine, Ma'am," Roxas said softly, not looking up.

"My goodness! He's so quiet!" she got on her knees in front of the boy. "Of course you can stay here. Poor child. Axel, get him settled. I'll make him something warm to eat. Honey, can you go find some of Axel's old clothes that might fit him? I'll wash what he's wearing and he can take a nice bath after dinner. Would you like that, Roxas?"

He nodded slowly; baffled at the sudden flip this woman did from distrust to loving mother. Axel had been right. His parents really didn't like him, but they weren't cruel. Not to Roxas, anyway.

Axel let out a sigh of relief as he led Roxas to a door with long holes in it.

"Axel? How did these holes get here?"

"I took out my frustrations on my door. I think I still have those kitchen knives somewhere… But my folks refuse to go anywhere near this room, so the door was never replaced," he tapped the door lightly before flicking the doorknob up with his wrist, pulling a small tab to open the door. "Not that they could get in without removing the door anyway," he smirked.

Roxas followed him in, watching the door close behind him before he turned to take in the contents of Axel's old bedroom. CDs and cassette tapes of bands that he hadn't heard anyone mention in years. A small television set hooked up to a Playstation… he hadn't ever seen an original one before. The room had the same dewdrop rose scent that Axel always did. The bed was a twin size, and stickers of old cartoon characters were randomly placed on the walls and furniture. Posters of things that were popular back in middle school, and a few of nearly-naked girls. Roxas suppressed a gag at the sight, reminding himself what kind of person Axel was. That was perfectly normal for someone like Axel. But everything in room was outdated. He saw print in the corner of one of the suggestive posters, and held his breath as he moved closer to read the year on it. He furrowed his brow. This room hadn't been touched in almost six years.

Axel moved between Roxas and the poster. "Whoops. I forgot I still had these. I'll take them down. They must make you uncomfortable."

All of the naughty posters were removed and shoved into the closet. Roxas looked around again. The room was really clean, actually. A few articles of clothing in random places on the floor and furniture, but otherwise, the bedroom was quite tidy. "Axel? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, shoot," Axel said as he started to rummage through another closet for sheets. The bed was bare apart from a blue pillow.

"What… what grade were you in when your parents threw you out?"

Axel froze. "I… I was… I had just finished fifth grade."

"Axel, that's horrible! You couldn't have been barely older than ten years old!" Roxas looked at him with wide eyes.

"Well…" he smiled sadly. "I was a disgrace. I had no right to stay anyway. How old were you when you were disowned? You were just born. But you've made it along just fine… you got to keep trying until you found parents that actually care about you. But I don't have that option. Not that any other family would want me anyway. I'm a lowlife. A manwhore. I don't know anything different than that."

"That's not true! I don't think that. And there is a family that wants you. Me and Nova. We're a family too, you know. And…" Roxas smiled warmly. "Your eight kids all want you. And so does your force field. Your cat and my dog… our fancy lawn… and me. I still want you, Axel. You're my future husband, remember?" he had a playful tone in his voice with that last comment.

"Roxas…" Axel wrapped his arms around his waist and kissed his lips softly. "Thanks."

"I'll always want you, Axel… okay?" Roxas rested his head against Axel's chest. "You're my best friend, my lover, the future father of our eight kids…" he chuckled softly. "And you'll never be a disgrace in my eyes. A whore, maybe, but not a disgrace."

The redhead pecked his forehead. "Gee, thanks."

"I'm trying my best to be honest and nice at the same time, okay? It's not easy!" Roxas argued.

"I applaud your efforts, my darling," he teased. "I'll call your mother to tell her that I got you here safely. Go eat."

"Aren't you hungry?"

"I'm not allowed to have any of that. I have to eat something after my parents go to sleep. Go ahead. I'll eat later."

Roxas left the room, and Axel put the sheets on the bed before plopping down on it.

"Damn. I've gotten tall. Too tall for this bed. Luckily Roxas is shorter than me, so he should be fine. I'll sleep on the floor if I have to."

There was a knock on the door, and Axel opened it to see Roxas with two bowls of soup.

"How did you manage that?"

"I said I was really hungry, so I asked for two bowls so I wouldn't have to go back for seconds."

"Clever little devil, aren't you? You were _that_ determined to make me eat?"

"Of course. You have to have a lot of energy if you want so many children. You'll get nowhere by starving yourself," he said as they sat down to eat.

"When are you going to stop teasing me about wanting a lot of kids?"

"When you give me a lower number of times to be pregnant."

"Maybe you'll have them all at once."

"That would be even worse! Octuplets are NOT the solution here!"

Axel simply smirked. "Are you looking forward to our little future?"

Roxas blushed. He really WAS taking this too seriously. They've been dating for THREE DAYS! This was hardly any time to be concerned about having kids and starting a family! He just turned sixteen, he shouldn't even be thinking about such things! He put the empty bowls aside.

"Don't worry about it. I promised your father that we wouldn't start reproducing until we got hitched."

"Why would you even be talking about such a thing with him?"

"I referred to Nova as our daughter and he got concerned."

"You're an idiot."

"Just for you, baby."

"I can't believe Papa would say something like that…"

"He just cares about you, dove. He doesn't want you to be impregnated and soiled by a bad boy such as myself."

"You give yourself too much credit. It's just stroking your ego."

"But it feels nice."

"Jerk."

* * *

**Axel's a pervert! And I just love the rediculous "eight kids" thing. It's beautiful.**

**-Note: Because this crosses over with FLoaBN, male pregnancy is possible. Where did you think gay couple babies came from?-**


	27. È una vita dura battere

**Yucky, icky, pornographic magazines. And naughty words. I somehow managed to write this without throwing up, so it must be okay... ish...**

* * *

Roxas collapsed onto the bed, letting out a sigh. "I'm exhausted."

Axel sat on the edge of the mattress and leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. "My mom will freak out if you don't go take that bath. She'll think I'm doing dirty things to you."

"And what if we _are _doing dirty things?"

"We'd have no excuse at that point, would we?"

"You have a point," he groaned as he sat up.

"Don't worry; I'm not going anywhere as long as Mom and Dad are awake. Even if they're asleep I don't really go anywhere anyway."

Roxas nodded and walked out of the room. Axel rolled over and reached his hand under the bed. He pulled out a box.

"I can't believe these are still here," he chuckled. "All my old dirty magazines. I thought I was so cool because I had them."

He flipped open an issue of _Playboy_ with a blonde girl on the cover. As he turned the pages, he didn't find the pictures nearly as arousing as before. He started reading the titles of the different articles.

"I knew it was a magazine, but I never noticed there was writing. Like real articles…"

Axel closed it, lying down on his stomach and opening another one of the pornographic displays. Naked women, suggestive clothing, all the normal stuff intended to turn guys on with every turn of the page.

"Huh. I think I actually knew this one. Who knew she'd end up exposing herself to the prying eyes of a couple million men? Some sort of sex toy advertisement too. Gross."

He paused after that last word. Why? Why did he say it was gross? That was normal! Stuff he saw all the time, and even did to some girls occasionally! Why would he say that? This woman was hot, sexy, busty, naked, and she had a phallic piece of plastic pleasuring her for the world to see. That wasn't gross, it was arousing! Stuff like that should give a guy the urge to jerk himself off, not the reflex to gag. That was what Axel got frequently! Women like her, only replacing the toy with himself and intensifying the pleasure… that was what he did frequently, and it felt good!

But ever since he met Roxas… he started thinking about his lover. Of that adorable boy replacing the woman in the picture… screaming for more… "Ah! Shit…" he groaned, rolling onto his back. "Well, the magazine did what it intended to do… Just not in the way it had planned."

He sighed. There was no denying it at this point. The proof was in his pants, standing at full attention and begging to be touched. It was actually painful, something he had never experienced before because he usually had his solution wrapped around his finger the second he was ready to go. But this was way different. It was throbbing, and Axel groaned again. _'Why the hell did I have to do that? I'm so stupid!'_ he clutched the sheets._ 'I'm hard… for Roxas. For a boy…'_

Axel knew that this meant one thing:

_He was unmistakably and hopelessly attracted to Roxas._

* * *

**Weeeeeeeee! You survived! The next one isn't quite as bad because it's about Roxy.**

**Also, there's a saying that the articles in naughty magazines are to keep the gay men and straight women entertained. Axel, you've taken a step!**


	28. Notte morso

**Nothing to say.**

* * *

Axel was breathing heavily as he calmed down. He'd waited it out, not wanting to masturbate with the object of his arousal only a few doors away and him basically being in plain sight if you looked (_'why? Why did there have to be holes in my door?'_), but_ fuck_ did it hurt. He'd felt desire, lust, need, and passion before, but this was something new. _'Ouch…'_ he breathed a sigh of relief as he suddenly got himself under control. He stood up, still feeling the tingling remnants of pain in his lower abdomen. If this was what menstrual cramps were like, then he had a newfound respect for women.

The redhead opened the door to see Roxas in a pair of his old pajamas. It was absolutely adorable. "Roxas, come on."

He nodded, walking into the bedroom and sitting down on the bed. Axel put on pajama pants and took off his shirt slowly and teasingly, showing off his abs to his boyfriend, who simply rolled his eyes. "Don't play sexy, Axel. Everyone knows you're gorgeous, so let it go."

"Everyone? I take it that includes you?"

"Yes, Axel. I am fully aware that you're attractive."

"Everyone knows… but Roxas… you're the only one allowed to touch now. You know you want to…"

Roxas shivered as Axel's fingers ran along his sides. "Even if I wanted to… and I don't… it would be too awkward. The thought is nerve-racking."

"You're always welcome to explore my incredible body. Have you ever used a Playstation before?"

"No. I've played a PS2…"

"It's settled, then. Tomorrow I'm getting you hooked on Final Fantasy VII. We can't leave here, so we may as well find something to do besides each other. So I'll show you how to play."

The blonde shrugged. Why not?

Axel kissed him. "Good night."

"Where are you sleeping?"

"I'll sleep on the floor. I've outgrown that bed. I hang over the edge because I've gotten so tall…"

Roxas vaguely recalled some sort of Dr. Seuss book mentioning something like that.

"Sorry I can't snuggle with you tonight. We'll just have to be twice as cuddly tomorrow to make up for it," he snickered.

"Good night, Axel."

"Sweet dreams, Roxas."

* * *

Axel awoke to see Roxas sleeping beside him on the floor, a bite mark on the nape of his neck. Whoops.

"Roxas, can you answer a couple questions for me, baby?"

Roxas nodded.

"Why are you on the floor, and did I put you there?"

The boy frowned. "Do you seriously not remember what happened last night?"

He thought for a moment. It all came back to him.

* * *

_Roxas leaned over the edge of the bed, watching Axel sleeping. He seemed so far away. Filled with a yearning to be closer, he slithered soundlessly off the bed and to the floor, slipping under the blanket next to his lover._

_Axel opened his eyes, startled by the sudden unexpected cuddling. "Roxas, what are you doing up… and on the floor?"_

"_I was lonely. I don't want to have to wait until tomorrow to be next to you."_

"_You were still next to me, just higher up."_

"_That's not the same. We aren't making any contact when I'm up there."_

_Axel grumbled sleepily. "Fine. Stay on the floor. It's not exactly comfortable, though."_

"_Maybe not, but you are."_

_He bit the younger boy's neck, not hard enough to break the skin, but enough to leave a mark and cause the blonde to whimper. "Stop with the playing cute. I'm tired."_

"_You're grumpy."_

"_Because I'm tired. Go to sleep, Roxas."_

* * *

"Oh yeah… sorry about that, dove…"

"I just realized something."

"What?"

"Your mother will see the mark. She'll kill you."

"Shit…" he groaned. "Well this sucks. We should cover it up somehow… sneak to the bathroom and get the small white bag. Bring it back quickly."

* * *

Roxas looked at himself in the mirror. "Wow! I seriously can't see it anymore! That's incredible!"

"Just a make-up trick. No big deal," Axel smiled. "And now I don't have to die for biting you."

"That's not all you get out of it."

"Is that so? What else did I earn?"

Roxas sat sideways on Axel's lap. "A kiss."

"I'm so lucky today…" he kissed him softly. "Hurry and put the make-up bag back before we get caught."

"Okay."

* * *

**Haha! You thought they did something naughty.**


	29. I migliori in tutti noi

**What the hell is going on?**

* * *

"Roxas. You can go home now. Your mother called. It's been settled, so we can go back… She'll explain everything when we get there," Axel made sure to avoid his parents' gazes. "Come on. I just need to tidy up my room and we'll leave."

"Thank you for everything…" Roxas bowed gratefully to Axel's parents. "You've raised a wonderful, caring son. I'm happy to have Axel as a part of my life."

All three of the others gaped at Roxas' statement. The blonde smiled sincerely, turning to Axel and taking his hand to lead his lover to the room.

* * *

Axel closed the door. "I don't know why you would say that to my parents."

"Because they should know how important you are to me and that you're not a bad person."

"You aren't going to convince them that way. They'll think I brainwashed you."

Roxas shook his head. "Axel, you're the most amazing person I've ever met. All that matters is that I said it. I don't care whether or not they believe me, but I was honest about it and that's all I really care about. Maybe one day they'll come to see you the way I do."

"I understand, but… just… don't get your hopes up too high, okay? My parents… they don't think like that, and I doubt they ever will. Roxas, you're really giving them too much credit. You'll get hurt if you trust people that much when you don't even know them. I know you try to see the best in people, baby, but you need to be careful or you might end up heartbroken."

"Yeah… I know."

Axel wrapped his arms around him in a light hug. "I just want to protect you, dove. I'm not trying to make it sound like the world is out to get you, but I'm telling you that it's possible that it is. I don't want to see you hurt, that's all."

Roxas nodded.

"Come on. Let's take you home. I want to find out what that orphanage was really up to."

* * *

**…Oooooo! Next chapter unveils the whole "selling Roxas" thing!**


	30. Sedici

**Can Roxas figure out what's going on?**

* * *

When Axel turned the corner onto Roxas' street, he stopped. Roxas leaned forward. "Axel? What's wrong?"

"Get down again. I have a bad feeling about this…"

"Why?"

"Just… just do it, okay?"

Roxas obediently hid, and Axel drove to the next street, parking in a gas station lot. "Why are we here?"

"I'm going to go check it out. Stay here and don't leave," Axel started pressing buttons on his phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Temporarily changing your name on my phone so they can't find out if I text you. Your name is Sora now."

The blonde sighed and heard the door open and close again, and the small -shick!- sound of the door tabs sliding into place to lock the car. The car gave off a small 'beep' to inform that the alarm had been activated. He took his phone out of his pocket and put it down next to him, putting it on silent so it wouldn't make any noise if Axel were to contact him. _'I wish I knew what was going on… I was supposedly sold? How? And why? To whom?'_

He mulled it over for a moment. The reason they called on his birthday was to try and get him back as soon as they could. He was sixteen… what did that entail? It wasn't only because of the policy; they could have taken him back any time they wanted with the right excuse. It had to have something to do with his age… what was so important about being sixteen? He needed some sort of clue! When you turn sixteen, you can get a driver's license… no, that couldn't be it. What would that do? If he could drive he would be able to escape from his 'owner'. Let's see… sixteen year olds can live on their own… no, that's not right. With parental consent they can drop out of school, but that has nothing to do with it, though he most likely would be forced to quit school anyway. At sixteen you can get a job, with no work hour regulations… maybe that was it. But who would actually _**PURCHASE**_ a child to do work for them when they could simply _**HIRE**_ one? Think, Roxas, _**THINK!**_

_Sixteen… sixteen…_ His eyes widened.

Sixteen was the age of consent. Sixteen meant he could have sex with anyone older than him… Anyone who could argue it was consensual. Anyone who could keep him locked up so no one would ever know about it.

Which meant he was sold…

as a sex object?

* * *

**…REVIEW!**


	31. Sporco figlio: I like that title

**The result of Axel's investigation is that this is a Devil May Cry 3 crossover now. _WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO MEEEEE?_**

* * *

Axel knew something was wrong. He'd never seen that car at Roxas' house before. Not even a few days ago on his lover's birthday. He quickly pushed away the thought it was Claudia's and opted to hide Roxas out a little longer so he could check it out. It was better to be cautious than reckless if Roxas was involved. He didn't want anything to happen to him.

The door was ajar, and he poked his head in. "Hello? Signora Maria? Signore Fredrico?"

When he received no answer, he furrowed his brow and entered the house. He checked all of the first-floor rooms and found nothing, and then it hit him. Roxas' room.

Axel descended the stairs into the basement and noticed that Roxas' door wasn't closed all the way and the light was on. He slid into the room undetected and saw a woman in a business suit rummaging through Roxas' belongings. Her watched beeped and she held down the button.

"I'm looking, okay? You're so impatient!" she snapped at it.

The watch surprisingly responded, a male voice filling the room. _**{**__****__-_"I'm not the one who is impatient, Lady. Our client wants Roxas and he wants him NOW. He's been waiting years for the boy to turn sixteen, and now you suddenly can't find him or any trace of where he might have gone? You're useless!"-}

"How can you say that I'm useless when you're sitting in an office doing nothing while I do all the work?"

_**{-"I have other things to do. I can't be bothered with such tasks."-}**_

"You're an ass. I'll find him if you give me some time to look without you distracting me!"

_**{-"I'll leave you to it then. But if you don't find him soon, I'll send my brother to take care of you and the boy."-}**_

"I swear to God, Virgil, if you send Dante here I'll break you in half."

_**{-"Then you'll get the job done? Excellent. Thank you, Lady."-}**_

She pressed the button again and growled furiously before continuing to turn the room upside down. Axel decided that he had to take action now before she turned around and spotted him. The only course of action he had was… seduction. He rolled his eyes. Great. Just great.

The redhead carefully planned his movements, and in one swift motion, he had Lady pinned to Roxas' floor. "Good morning, Lady. That's a strange name you have. You can call me Tramp if you want and we can fuck off-screen…" he actually felt gross saying that. Weird.

Lady looked at him. "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Lea, and we've already established your name, Lady. Is that your real name? Or a pet name from Virgil?"

"You think I would let that asshole call me a pet name? I wouldn't let him near me if my life depended on it."

Axel purred seductively, letting his eyes cloud with lust that he didn't actually feel, but he was good at pretending he did. "So I take it he wouldn't care if we were to play a little? I can be rather sweet when you give me a chance…" he nipped up her neck, moving to hold both of her wrists above her head with one hand as he moved his other down to grope her breasts. She squirmed in pleasure, suppressing a moan. "You like that, don't you, Lady? You want more."

She gasped as he moved down closer to her body, the heat radiating off of his skin making her practically melt with need. His groping grew more forceful and skilled. "Nn…" she writhed, trying to maintain her sanity as she was felt up by a complete stranger. Her watch beeped, but she ignored it. Axel's touch was infinitely better than being yelled at by Virgil.

He was better than good, better than incredible, better than even mind-blowing. And Lady made sure Axel, 'Lea', rather, knew it. She was reduced to a worn out pile of sexed-up female on the floor, not having the energy left to stay awake. Axel looked down at her as he redressed. She was disgusting. But it was the only way to get a hold of her watch and bag with information on Roxas' case. With his prize, he took out his phone and texted 'Sora', saying he'd be back in a few minutes. He called the police and informed them of what was going on, and by the time he got back to his car, he heard the sirens.

Axel opened the door to the backseat. "Roxas."

The blonde looked up cheerfully, yet sadly, before embracing Axel and attempting to kiss him, but Axel dodged the contact meant for his lips.

"No, Roxas. Not now."

"What?"

"I'm not going to kiss you right now, okay? Don't touch me for awhile," he pried him off and handed him the bag. "There's everything the person there had. It's all the information about what happened with the 'selling' thing."

"But why can't I touch you?" he reached out a hand for Axel's face, but it was swatted away.

"Damn it, Roxas! Don't touch means _don't fucking touch_!"

The blonde stared at him with a look of hurt, but did not disobey again. "Okay. Anything you say. I'm sorry."

Axel didn't even feel guilty for snapping at him and making him upset. His body felt dirty and disgusting. He was revolted with himself. Axel's only focus was to keep Roxas from touching him and getting dirty too. He would use any means nessassary. "I don't know if I can bring you home yet, I have to wait to hear from your mother, but I need a shower so we're going to my apartment for awhile."

Roxas only nodded. "Do you want me to stay in the car? So I don't touch your stuff?"

He thought about it. His home was just as filthy as he was. He had to keep Roxas clean. He didn't want Roxas to be soiled. "Yes. I'll take a quick shower and come back out for you. Take my phone in case your mother calls."

His phone was fine. It wasn't soiled like him. It hadn't been tainted.

"Okay."

Roxas was so obedient… that slightly worried Axel, but at this point he was glad that he would do what he said. It was for his own good. Roxas just didn't see that.

Axel wanted to be clean. He wanted to be worthy of someone pure like Roxas. He refused to taint Roxas with his filth. Why hadn't he noticed how disgusting he had been? How had he lived with himself every day like that?

All that mattered now was taking a shower and getting that woman's stench off of him.

* * *

**EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW**


	32. Il mio proprietario?

**We learn more about the child trafficking. This chapter marks the end of part TWO. Not a long part, but a lot happened in a very short span of time.**

**The part within the -**hyphens**- in BOLD and **_Italics_** is Maria's voice over the phone.**

* * *

Roxas sat silently in the car, looking through the files. As he suspected, the intention was to sell him to a male brothel to be used as a gay sex slave. Of course. The orphanage knew about his sexuality and used it to gain sixty-million dollars by sending him to this man to become his callboy. It was a hefty price, and after continuing to investigate, this man had been dead-set on getting Roxas ever since he was eight years old. That's a long time to wait for someone just to use them. He thought about it for a moment. In theory, it would have most likely been a better life than he had before, and if he hadn't been taken in by the Auditore's and met Axel… he probably would have obediently gone with them in hopes that the man wouldn't be too cruel to him. Someone had actually wanted him the way he was for half of his life, even if it was for the wrong reason, he was still accepting—even _encouraging_—Roxas' sexuality. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad. He was happy here, but as the scenario played out in his mind, he was certain being in the brothel was better than being at the orphanage.

"I kind of want to meet this guy… just to see what he's like. I won't go with him; I just want to know if he's nice…"

Axel had told him not to trust people he didn't know, but he was curious. The man had to care about him at least a little if he wanted him so badly. But he had to wonder why he would be purchased like an animal at the pet store when he could have just adopted him and had Roxas with him the whole time… Was it because he wasn't old enough? Then again, a brothel doesn't mean a family. Maybe the guy was afraid he something would happen to Roxas before he was old enough and didn't want that to happen?

"The more I think about it the more confused I get. I really want to be able to at least see this guy… to hear his voice and feel his touch… not sexually, but I want to know if he'll ruffle my hair or wipe my tears… I want to see if he's kind."

"Roxas," Axel opened the door and sat beside him. "I'm sorry for being rude before, but it was for your own good, okay?"

Roxas simply nodded. His mind was elsewhere. The fuzzy black and white picture from the papers was all he had to go off of in terms of appearance, and he didn't think that the name he used was his real name, either. He wanted to see this man in person.

Axel caressed his cheek gently and Roxas absentmindedly leaned into the touch, being pulled into an embrace and being showered with butterfly kisses all over his face. The redhead's phone started ringing. "That must be Maria."

He watched dazedly as Axel picked up the cell phone.

"Hello?"

**_-Ah, Axelo. It's good to hear your voice. Is Roxaso alright?-_**

"Yeah, Roxas is right here. He's fine."

**_-I'm relieved. It's safe to bring him back now, the police have collected the woman that was trying to kidnap Roxaso and our paperwork was filed through by the chief. Roxaso is officially our adopted son.-_**

He felt his stomach churn at the mention of that woman. "That's wonderful news. We can be back in fifteen minutes."

**_-Take care! Thank you for this again, Axelo.-_**

"I'll do anything if it's for Roxas."

**_-What a sweet boy you are. See you soon.-_**

"Sure thing. Bye," he hung up and turned to Roxas, who was staring at the papers. "Roxas? Snap out of it, kid, you're going home."

"Okay."

"Is something wrong, dove?"

"Just curious about the guy that wanted to buy me. That's all."

Axel furrowed his brow. "Don't make me start worrying. You'd better not try to meet him in person, he's obviously dangerous!"

"He's wanted me for eight years, Axel… I don't think he's a bad person."

"Roxas, you don't think _**ANYONE **_is a bad person! Why is it that I was the only person you refused to trust at first? That hurts, Roxas. I still remember that day. You trust everyone else but me."

"That's not true! Axel, before I warmed up to you I didn't trust anyone! Everyone always betrayed me! When I got to this family I wouldn't speak to a single person for two months, and I had to spend my first two years there trying to learn a foreign language so I could feel like I was one of them! You don't get it, Axel. I was just thinking about how it's kind of nice to feel wanted! Is it a problem that it feels good to know that someone out there actually liked me enough to do this? I hope you have an excuse to say this is wrong, because if it is, then I'm seriously confused at the reason why!"

"You ARE wanted and liked! I like you, and so does your family! This guy doesn't care about you, he doesn't even _**KNOW **_you! Roxas, you're not being rational about this! This man is a creeper! A pervert! A pedophile! He doesn't love you and his intention is to hurt you! Can't you see that?"

"Can't you see that you're overreacting?"

"You're **UNDER**-reacting!"

"Maybe you're just afraid that this guy would treat me better than you do and I'll leave you for him!"

Axel was taken aback by this. "That… that hurt, Roxas. I'm trying to protect you. Using you as a sex slave **ISN'T **love, Roxas! How would raping you daily be considered treating you right? Is someone touching you against your will your idea of being cared about? Because that's what it's starting to sound like, Roxas, and I'm afraid you are gravely mistaken. Put on your seatbelt. I'm driving you home."

Axel got into the front seat and didn't say another word.

* * *

**END OF PART TWO**

* * *

**Roxy was kinda mean! But so was Axel... But he was trying to protect Roxas! But he may be overreacting... *mental arguement over who was meaner***

**And there you have it. Reviews? *begs cutely***


	33. End of Part Two: Chapter Guide

**The following are the translations of the chapter titles in Part Two.**

* * *

24. The day flew by

* * *

25. Imagine our future, Eight

* * *

26. Meeting my Lover's parents

* * *

27. It's a hard-knock life

* * *

28. Night bite

* * *

29. The best in all of us

* * *

30. Sixteen

* * *

31. Dirty Boy

* * *

32. My owner?

* * *

**33. END OF PART TWO / CHAPTER GUIDE (Again, that's this.)**

**NOTE: The story is NOT over. See those words at the very top? If it was over it would say "Complete" there. And it doesn't. So it's not over. It's on hiatus.**


	34. Sofferente

**A short chapter to kick off part three!**

* * *

"Good night, Axel…" he said softly as he got out of the car.

"Yeah."

Roxas sighed as he went into the house and was showered with affection, his newly-adoptive family showing how welcome he was. After awhile, he pulled away. "I'm sorry… but I'm really tired. I'm going to bed."

No one protested his argument, and they all bade him good night as he went downstairs. Roxas collapsed on his bed and buried his face in his pillow_. 'Is it so bad that I want to see this guy? Why did Axel have to be so mean about it?'_

"I'm sorry…" he muttered. "Axel, I don't know what else to say… I can't help but be curious. You would be too in my situation. You're just jealous because he'll probably be really nice to me and give me a better life than you could offer me. For the school slut, you're really insecure…"

'_I think you just don't want him to have sex with me before you can!' _he growled to himself at this conclusion. _'That's all you want from me, isn't it? You want to screw me and move on, but I'm not letting you! That's the real reason you started dating me! Just like how you tricked that girl into finally falling for you with the garden! I can't believe you!'_

He grabbed his phone.

* * *

**FROM: 1-492-813-2834 **_**-ROXAS-**_**  
TO: AXEL  
-do NOT pick me up tomorrow morning**

* * *

**FROM: 1-492-138-5329 **_**-AXEL-**_**  
TO: ROXAS  
-Why not?**

* * *

**FROM: 1-492-813-2834 **_**-ROXAS-**_**  
TO: AXEL  
-just DONT**

* * *

As he asked, Axel didn't show up the next morning, and he told his mother that he needed to stay home. He was sick…

Sick of Axel's lies.

Sick of his life.

Sick of being controlled.

Sick of never knowing what was going on…

And now, he was determined to change that.

* * *

**Well? What do you think?**


	35. Non andare da soli

**Another short piece to set up the main conflict in part 3.**

**The part within the **-hyphens**- in **_italics_** and BOLD is Maria's voice over the phone.**

* * *

Axel sat in every class, staring blankly at Roxas' empty seat. Maybe Roxas forgot that he told him not to pick him up? No, he was very firm. And he had gotten another message third period saying to not pick him up for the rest of the week.

During his lunch hour, he sat in his usual place on the ledge of the rooftop garden, looking over at Nova, who was seated on a bench. He and Roxas had ended the day badly yesterday so he had brought Nova to cheer his blonde up… but now Nova was keeping her 'father' company in Roxas' place.

"What am I going to do, Nova? I didn't mean to make him upset, I was just looking out for him! There was no other choice but to be firm with him. …right? If I had tried to play nice he wouldn't have gotten my point. A serious matter deserves a serious reaction. He would have been in danger if I hadn't told him off. He thinks I was being cruel, but I was being _reasonable_. Roxas just needs to see that there are some people he just can't trust, and that he can't do whatever the hell he wants without being wary of the consequences! There was no other way. It was vital that I was harsh. He'll understand one of these days that he can't just assume that someone wanting you means that they love you. That guy wants him to _use_ him! That's not even close to loving!"

He looked at his 'daughter', whose flowers seemed dull with sadness.

"You don't think I did the right thing, do you?" he sighed. "It's safer that he stays away from that guy."

A quiet voice spoke in the back of his head._ 'Don't jump to the conclusion that he gave up on meeting him just because you scolded him. Wouldn't it be safer if you went with him to meet this man rather than making Roxas go… alone?'_

Axel shot up. "He wouldn't…" his eyes widened. "Shit. Roxas!" he took Nova and rushed to his car. "Don't let me be too late to stop him…" he took out his phone and called Roxas.

No answer. _'That's right… he's still angry… He won't answer if he sees that I'm the one calling…'_

He called the house.

**_-Auditore de Firenze.-_**

"Signora Maria! It's Axel. Is Roxas home right now?"

**_-He just left to go to the bus station. He said he was taking the bus to the mall district so he could get some cold medicine.-_**

"Thank you," he hung up and turned to drive to the mall district.

Roxas wasn't getting cold medicine, Axel knew that. But this guy was in the mall district… probably in one of the fixed-up warehouses. If he was lucky, he could find him in time and at least offer to go with him to keep him safe.

"Wait for me, Roxas… please!"

* * *

**Reviewz pleeeze**


	36. Chiamata

**Will Axel find Roxas in time?**

* * *

As Roxas walked away from the bus station into the cool fall air, his phone rang again.

_**-Axel calling**_

He shoved it back into his pocket as he searched for his destination. "It should be about eight blocks from here."

_**-Axel calling**_

"Damn it… I don't want to talk to you, so stop calling…" he muttered, not answering. Every time the phone would stop ringing, it would start up again a second later. "Axel, stop!" he hissed.

_**-Axel calling**_

_**-Axel calling**_

_**-Axel calling**_

_**-Axel calling**_

_**-Axel calling**_

_**-Axel ca—**_

Roxas opened his phone. "WHAT DO YOU WANT, AXEL? STOP CALLING ME!" he screamed into the phone.

"I would if you would turn around and talk to me, Roxas."

The blonde froze in his tracks. He spun to face his boyfriend, who was looking put-out, hunched over with his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Puffs of white fog were released into the air with his breaths. "Axel…?"

"Yeah."

"Why are you here?"

"I can't let you go alone… if… if I can't stop you, at least let me try and keep you safe. Let me come with you, Roxas."

Roxas walked up to him. "Axel, I…" he hugged him. "I'm sorry I got you into this…"

"That's not important right now. Where is this guy?"

* * *

They walked for awhile, and Roxas stopped in front of a very nice building that looked more like a mansion than a warehouse brothel. "Th-this is the place…"

"Okay. Let's go…" Axel held his hand as they walked inside. The interior was just as expensive-looking as the exterior. Roxas looked around in awe, and Axel started to feel like this really was a far better life than he could ever offer Roxas in his cramped old apartment…

"Axel—!" the cry was cut short as Roxas' hand was suddenly yanked from his grasp. He snapped his eyes up, and saw someone holding Roxas' hands behind his back as his mouth and nose were covered with a blue cloth.

"Roxas!" he went to lunge for him, but he was grabbed as well. "Roxas! No!"

Roxas' screams were muffled as he struggled, but the chemical-smell on the cloth was making him dizzy._ 'Axel…'_ he suddenly fell unconscious.

"Roxas, wake up! Run! Roxas!" Axel tried to break free but a needle was jabbed into him, injecting him with a tranquilizer that made him fully black out.

* * *

**High-energy action!**


	37. UnAlato Peccatore

**More 4 U.**

* * *

Axel woke up with a start. "Roxas!"

"Are you alright?" a young man with spikes of light-blonde hair was kneeling beside him.

"Wh-where am I?"

"This is One-Wing. It's a brothel."

"Where's Roxas?"

"The boy you were with?"

Axel nodded.

"He's with our boss."

"Oh, God… no… Roxas…"

The blonde tipped his head. "Why are you so upset?"

"He's going to be RAPED!"

To Axel's fury, the other started laughing quietly.

"This isn't funny!"

"You really think your friend is going to be raped here? That's foolishness. No rape in this place. Sex is strictly banned to protect us from diseases. This isn't a physical brothel. It's more like a museum than a whorehouse. We're put on display behind one-way glass so we can't see the customer but they can see us."

"That's even sketchier. Who knows what they do to you in their minds…"

"It doesn't affect us, because we don't really know that they're there. What they think about is their business, not mine."

"Who are you, anyway?"

He smiled. "My name is Cloud."

"Do they give you names like you're objects like that?"

Cloud frowned. "No. That's my birth name. Cloud Archibald Strife."

Axel sighed. "Sorry about that. I'm Axel."

"And your friend is named Roxas, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, from what I've heard, the boss has been after him for quite some time. Whether or not he's up to par is his fate."

"What's your boss' name?"

* * *

"Here he is, sir."

Roxas tripped and fell to the floor. "Ow…"

A new voice spoke. "Thank you, Zack. You are excused."

Roxas looked up at the new voice's owner. It was a very tall and muscular man with long silver hair. This was him. This was the man who had wanted him so much…

The man looked down at him. "Good afternoon, Roxas. Are you hungry?"

He nodded slowly.

The silverette smiled and motioned to a comfortable-looking couch and a coffee table of all kinds of delicious food. "Help yourself."

"Why… why are you doing this?"

"What do you expect me to be doing if not greeting you?"

"But…" he furrowed his brow. "Aren't you going to rape me or something?"

"Roxas, Roxas… I've waited too long to let your body be ruined so easily and so soon. For now, I'm going to take care of you until you're fit to start training, and after you've been trained you can start display case work. You have to work your way up to receive anything physical, though I may play with my most precious puppet a little on my own."

"Most… precious… puppet?"

He smiled. "Of course. You have no idea how cute you are, do you? If you take those glasses off you are the most beautiful creature on earth, my Roxas."

"I… I'm not taking them off."

"What?"

"I won't take off my glasses for anyone but Axel! I'm not _your_ Roxas, and I'm not a creature! You aren't my boyfriend!"

The man smirked. "Axel… that's the name of that man you brought with you isn't it…"

Roxas suddenly grew very nervous. 'They have Axel captive! I totally forgot! No…'

"Well, that's another matter entirely. For now… you will keep them on because you are not yet trained. After training… you will know the consequences of disobeying me. You may be my most prized possession, Roxas… but you are still a possession and you will be obedient."

"I'm not an object! I'm a person!"

"Here you are currently neither. You are a Nobody. You have nothing, you will never have anything. Nobody. Understand, Roxas? All you have is your name."

"What is your name, anyway?" Roxas looked up at him, feeling slightly dizzy.

"You may call me…"

* * *

"_**Sephiroth."**_

* * *

***One-Winged Angel plays in background***


	38. Collare elettrico per cani

**Continuing on...**

* * *

Sephiroth watched his blonde puppet stir. "Good morning, Roxas."

"What… where's Axel?"

"Unimportant."

"It's important to me!"

Sephiroth smirked. "And just what are you, Roxas? Remind me. What are you?"

"I am… a Nobody," he replied mechanically. "I have nothing. Nothing but my name and what you give me…"

"Very good. Come over here, my pet."

Roxas stood and walked over to him, getting on his knees before him.

"On your feet, Roxas. Only treasured pets like you can stand before me."

"Yes, sir."

"Sephiroth. You may call me by name as long as you remember what you are. Who do you belong to, Roxas?"

"…I belong to Sephiroth."

"You're quite beautiful, Roxas. If you behave, I will ensure your friend eats today. Be on your best behavior and I may let him be another one of my pets."

"Axel isn't a pet!"

Sephiroth pressed the small button in his hand again. "Do not speak out. That is not behaving, now is it? What are you again and who is it that you belong to? Refresh my memory."

Slowly growing to fear the small electric collar on his neck, Roxas nodded again. "I'm a Nobody. I belong to Sephiroth."

"Very good. Go eat what has been prepared for you. I will send someone to feed the red one some breakfast."

"Yes, Sephiroth."

When the silver-haired man was out of sight, Roxas closed his eyes and sobbed.

"Axel… I'm so scared… I'm sorry! This is all my fault! I'm sorry…" tears ran down his cheeks and Roxas moved towards the mirror in the large bedroom. He had only been here overnight so far, but he was already getting visible burn marks from his electric dog collar. And even though Sephiroth had told him he could keep his glasses on until he was 'trained', he said nothing about the rest of his clothes, and had forced Roxas to strip down to nothing BUT his glasses the night before so he could look him over for damages. He took note of the burn and the cuts and then instructed Roxas to dress himself again.

Sephiroth had been true to his word that he would not physically do anything to Roxas, using his 'pet's obedience to the collar as his method of forcing Roxas to undress before him. What set Roxas slightly at ease was that when Sephiroth was staring at his body, he wasn't staring in an intimidating or creepy way, it was more like noncommittally looking over a piece of fruit for bruises.

Roxas ate the food, which was truly luxurious in comparison to anything he had ever eaten before. Sephiroth obviously had a lot of money, and it was no skin off his back to feed his pets well. Roxas hated being called a pet, but it was better than being called a sex slave or a toy. He sighed at the empty plate as Sephiroth re-entered the room.

"Your friend is eating and sleeping in normal conditions now. Everything is fine. Did you enjoy your meal?"

Nodding happily, Roxas smiled. Axel wasn't being housed like a prisoner, and he wasn't being treated as a pet, either. He still couldn't help being stressed and wanting to see him, but just knowing that Axel was alright made him feel much better. "Thank you."

"Manners are very much appreciated, Roxas. You're welcome. And that bout of good behavior has earned Red lunch, as long as you do not need to be disciplined before that time arrives."

"Thank you, Sephiroth!" he glowed contentedly.

"You're a good boy, Roxas. As long as you remember what you are, you are a very good boy…" Sephiroth caressed Roxas' face tenderly. "You're well-behaved, aren't you? You are… and you're mine…"

Not wanting to ruin Axel's chances of being fed, Roxas bit back his argument. Instead, he decided to play up the moment by leaning gently into the touch. "Sephiroth…" he whispered.

"Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful… my pet… My beloved, most precious pet. You are my love, aren't you? You are my dearest… my lovely Genesis…"

"Genesis…?" he murmured.

Sephiroth suddenly yanked his hand away and held down on the button until Roxas fell to the floor, writhing as the electricity surged through him and his neck burned.

"Please! Stop! Se-Se-phi-roth…"

Roxas' body went limp and the silverette released the button. "A Nobody should never talk back. Nobodies are meant to be vessels. Shells!"

Sephiroth turned on his heel and walked out of the room, leaving the burnt and blacked-out Roxas on the floor.

* * *

"Roxas… Where's Roxas? Give him back! I want my Roxas!" Axel cried. "If you can give me food, then give me Roxas and take your fucking food! I don't want it! Give him back!"

"Axel, you aren't going to get anywhere that way. There is no way to get him back unless Sephiroth releases him, which isn't likely."

"Why… Why did he have to take Roxas? I can't handle being without him! He's going to end up dying from an anxiety attack and I'll never even know about it, let alone be able to save him! Roxas… Roxas is the only good thing in my life… he's all I have… my only light… the only thing I ever did right was meeting him. My life was a mess, I had no purpose but to try and get laid. I had no friends or family and Roxas changed all that! I need him back! I need to be there for him so I can help him the same way he helped me! Roxas… My Roxas…"

Cloud looked at him sympathetically. "I used to have someone just like you who was always there for me… I know exactly how your Roxas feels. My lover still works here. He got a job as a guard and was going to help me escape… but I was already through training by then and we both knew there was nothing left to escape to."

"Why?"

"Training… makes you lose your humanity. You become something Sephiroth calls a Nobody. It's told to you over and over that you have nothing, that you are a possession, a pet. They use shock collars like this one…" Cloud pointed to the device on his neck. "To break you until you finally believe that you are a Nobody, and that you really do have nothing but your name. That's when they can display you. You have no sense of self, so even being told there are people staring at you behind the glass doesn't really phase you."

"I want Roxas back… If I can get to him before… that happens… Could I save him?"

"Maybe. The kid looks young, so I really don't want to see this happen to him. He's most likely older than he looks, otherwise Sephiroth wouldn't have taken him in, but I think he's still really young mentally. He wouldn't be able to maintain his persona through training. I was around his age when I was taken. People that young don't have a strong enough idea of their identity to hold fast to it when they try to take it away."

"How do I get him out?" Axel leaned forward eagerly.

"You'd need to speak with Zack. My ex-lover. He can help you. Zack still knows how to perform an escape, even though he never went through with getting me out."

"How can I speak to him?"

"I'll convince him to come here. For now, you need your strength, so eat."

* * *

**All Roxas needs to escape is KINGDOM HEARTS!**


	39. Fuga di Cuori di Regno

**So, this is going back on hiatus but you should all review.**

* * *

"Are you Zack?" Axel asked the spiky black-haired man.

"That's me! Zack Fair!" he replied cheerfully.

Axel winced at his bright demeanor in such a place. "My lover… his name is Roxas… he's been kidnapped and taken to Sephiroth. I need him back… I need to get him out of this place before it's too late!"

Zack nodded. "Yeah, I know him. I was the one who brought him to Sephiroth from screening. Didn't know there was another person involved, though."

"Roxas has anxiety attacks if he gets too overwhelmed, and I don't want that to happen to him when I can't be there to protect him! He could die from one of them!"

"I see… Well, you'd better put this on, then."

Zack tossed him a uniform.

"Meet me in the kitchenette."

* * *

Axel approached Zack in the uniform, and the black-haired man beamed. "Awesome! Dude, that looks pretty good on you!"

"Can we save this for AFTER we get Roxas back?"

"Impatient, are we? Don't worry, I'm the same way. Come on."

Axel sighed, turning to glare at Cloud, who was standing in the corner and laughing to himself.

"What? You'd be laughing too if you were in my position, Axel."

"Somehow I severely doubt that…" he grimaced, following Zack up several flights of stairs, Cloud walking slowly to an elevator. "Zack, why are we taking the fucking stairs?"

"Why wouldn't we be?"

"Cloud took an elevator!"

"Oh… um… look! That's Sephiroth's room!"

Axel sighed again, following Zack to a large door that was thrown open.

"Sephiroth! Where are you?"

"Master Sephiroth is out at the moment," a brunette woman replied from the corner. She was dusting a vase and continually glanced at another door. "But I have been instructed to keep all others out for the time being…"

"Why?"

"His new pet is yet to be trained and can be reckless at times… Sephiroth does not wish him to be let out, and if he does manage to escape the room then you two leaving the door wide open will not make Sephiroth happy. He would have a clear shot for the stairs."

"I see. Why don't we guards take over watching him while you take your lunch break, Haruka?"

She thought about this, looking very tempted to accept, but she shook her head. "You two shouldn't be in here anyway…"

"Haruka, you have been working since dawn and are yet to eat. I know that you must be starving by now. We can watch over to make sure he does not try to flee while you are otherwise occupied."

She smiled softly. "You win, Zack. Thank you. Who's the red one?"

"This is a new recruit. I've been instructed to show him the ropes. No worries."

"Ah. Nice to see you, then. I'll be back in exactly twenty minutes…" she closed the door behind her and Zack turned to face Axel.

"We have ten."

"Ten what?"

"Ten minutes to get the kid out of here!"

"She said—"

"She said when SHE would be back. Sephiroth will be back in about ten!" he replied. "So we need to formulate a plan and get the kid out before Sephiroth returns and beheads all three of us!"

* * *

"I am a Nobody… I belong to Sephiroth…"

_**ZAP!**_

"AGAIN!"

"I am a Nobody. I belong to Sephiroth…" he shook with sobs.

_**ZAP!**_

"LOUDER!"

"I belong to you! Please, please stop!" Roxas wailed, tears racing down his face. "I'll do anything, just stop it, please!"

"Shut your mouth," Sephiroth grabbed his arm and led him to the bed, sitting him down and handcuffing his wrists to the bedpost behind his back.

"S-Sephiroth…" he sniffled.

The silver-haired man reached out a gloved hand and gently brushed the blond hair from Roxas' face, wrapping his other arm around the boy's waist. "Shh…" he hushed. "I don't want to hurt you, pet… I'm sorry. Don't cry, now… It's alright."

"I want to see Axel… please…" he whispered.

"Stay put and hush for now, and maybe I'll let you see him tonight, okay?"

Roxas nodded slowly as Sephiroth wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Now behave. I'll be back soon; I have business to do today. Alright?"

His voice was low and comforting, but the deadly glow in his eyes made his tone difficult to believe.

"I'll lock the remote for your collar away for now. Behave, pet."

"Yes, Sephiroth…"

The door closed loudly and Roxas suddenly noticed the syringe in his neck. Sephiroth had sedated him while he had been playing nice to make Roxas let his guard down. The blonde's vision went blurry and he passed out.

* * *

"Damn! It's locked!" Zack hissed.

Axel growled. "Move."

Zack obeyed, suddenly nervous.

The redhead grabbed Zack's handgun from his waist and shot the lock, which exploded into hundreds of pieces and the door creaked open. He dropped the weapon and ran in, rushing to the bedside.

"Roxas? Roxas! Roxas, wake up!"

Zack took his pliers out and pried off the handcuffs, Roxas slumping forward onto Axel. "Hm?" he pulled out the syringe. "Wow, I don't know what Sephiroth thought he was going to do chained to the bed like that, this is a pretty dangerous dose for such a small kid…"

Axel looked up at him nervously and Zack continued.

"This is enough to knock out a bear for a good ten hours, so I have no idea when he's going to wake up. Anywhere from 24 hours to three days, if at all."

"I thought that bastard wanted him! Why would he do something that might kill him?"

"Sephiroth is very fickle with his pets. If they don't satisfy his desires, but their too good to let anyone else have, he'll kill them if he feels the need to. He did the same thing to Cloud, but Cloud got half this dose though he's twice Roxy's size… something is wrong with this. We have to get the kid out of here and fast. He needs to go to a hospital, ASAP."

"But how do we get out without being caught?"

"I can help."

They spun around. "Cloud!"

"Hello, Zack…" he said meekly.

"Cloud, I'm so sorry for everything, you know I am."

Cloud kissed him softly. "I know. You don't need to keep apologizing every time I see you, dear," he faced Axel. "Behind the dresser is a small elevator door. You can send Roxas down and meet it at the bottom of the back stairway. It's the only way out of here. I discovered it when I was trapped here."

"Thank you, Cloud."

"Take care of him, Axel."

"I will. I promise."

* * *

"Roxas. Roxas, if you can hear me, open your eyes… I'm sorry… I should have been able to protect you…"

'_You did… I hear you but I can't move…'_

"Roxaso…"

'Mama…'

"I'm so sorry, Roxas… This is all my fault…"

"Axelo, please don't blame yourself. It's not your fault. I should have never let him leave, not alone."

'It's not your fault, Mama… don't say that…'

"He should be left alone for now if you want him to wake up anytime soon."

"Yes, doctor."

'No… don't leave me alone…'

Axel jumped as Roxas' hand closed around his finger like a small, helpless child. "Roxas? Signora Maria, I think he can hear us!"

'I do hear you… if only I could speak…'

"Roxaso?"

"Si… papa…" he choked out.

"Roxas!" Axel exclaimed happily, clutching Roxas' hand tightly. "Roxas, you're alright…"

"Axel… I'm sorry…" tears ran down his face. "I'm so sorry…"

"No, baby… you aren't to blame. No one is except for that horrible man Sephiroth. You are the most innocent of us all. Honest."

At ease, Roxas fell into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

Two days later, Roxas was released from Kingdom Hearts Hospital in stable conditions. Axel fussed over him like no tomorrow, but the blonde simply smiled at him and kissed his lover's worries away. Sephiroth was arrested and the brothel was shut down, and Cloud had his first shaky taste of freedom in twelve years. The building was renovated and made into a fancy private restaurant called AVALANCHE. Cloud started a delivery business in the next town over, rebuilding his life with Zack at his side as his lover once more.

Life was good.

Almost.

* * *

**Reviews would be loved! And the rest is planned out, I just need to actually write it.**


	40. L'interludio

**Chappie chappie!**

* * *

Roxas sighed. Axel looked at his little Miss Daisy in his rear-view mirror. "What's up, buttercup?"

"Back to school after all that trauma. What a pain."

"It's not all bad. Just think of it as life returning to normal. It won't be long until you graduate anyway."

"I know. Yet I need to repeat a semester to catch up again. I'll graduate a year after you do."

"You plan on getting your license soon?"

"Soon but not yet. Driver's Ed is just another thing I don't need on my plate right now. I have enough things stressing me out as it is."

"Just remember that I'm always here for you, babe. Remember our promise."

They pulled into the lot and Roxas sighed again. "I won't."

Axel frowned and got out of the car, sliding into the back and kissing the furrowed brow of his young lover. "Just think of happier things, okay? Think of me~"

"What makes you think you're a happy thought in my mind? Ever since we met my life has been like a roller coaster!" Roxas smirked.

"You dragged me along for the ride too, baby, don't deny that. My life made sense before I met you. Now I don't understand anything anymore."

"You had the mental capacity to comprehend anything in the first place?"

"You little brat…" Axel nipped his neck and furiously tickled his blonde, grinning widely as the collapsed together, out of breath and still laughing. "You know, Roxas… You've gotta be the best thing that's ever happened to me. My life is hectic, but it's sure as hell fun."

"Well, I guess I have to be fair and say that with the right person… a roller coaster isn't so scary."

Axel kissed his forehead. "Come on. We're gonna be late and rumors are gonna spread that we were having sex in my car."

"Seems like the kind of rumor you would love to have spread about you."

They started walking toward the school. "I'm trying to protect your reputation, Roxy, don't chide me."

"Chide? Such fancy words! Axel's learning~" he teased, squeaking as Axel grabbed his ass. "You jerk!" he smacked his lover's arm.

Axel bent down and kissed him softly, holding the boy firmly when he tried to escape, only releasing him when he began to return the chain of kisses. "That's better. You're much cuter this way."

He smacked Axel's arm again and continued to walk toward the school.

* * *

"So, Axel, about the interstate music competition…" Keshigan began.

Axel smiled. "I'm in."

* * *

"Have you considered my offer, Roxas?"

"I have."

"And?"

"And I will. I'll perform in the interstate competition."

"That's wonderful! I really have to hand it to the redhead, he convinced you to finally try!"

"Yeah, well, Axel's just…"

* * *

"This boy really has you head-over-heels, Axel. I've been trying to get you to perform for years."

"Roxas is just…"

* * *

"_**Special."**_

**

* * *

****Cute chappie.**


	41. Amicizia Bracciale, i piedi per terra

If there is Italian spoken in this chap, it's stuff u know already!

Chapter Title – Friendship Bracelet, down to earth

…

"Hey, Roxas!"

The blonde boy winced and spun around. "R-riku…"

Riku frowned. "I'm not going to hurt you, man. I wanted to apologize. I was kind of a douche to you and you didn't deserve it. Sorry, dude," he held out his hand. "Truce?"

Roxas smiled and took the hand. "Friends."

The silverette blushed a deep crimson. "If you insist…"

"I do."

They smiled at each other for a moment before a voice cut in.

"Riku, you'd better not be pestering Roxas."

"No, Axel, he wasn't!" Roxas stood in front of Riku to shield him. "We're friends now, okay?"

Axel glared at Riku a moment longer in disbelief, then at Roxas. "Friends?"

"He said he was sorry, Axel, you have to give him a little credit. He's not a bad person, really!"

The redhead searched his eyes for a moment for any sign his blond lover was lying before relenting. "Welcome to the family, then, Riku."

"Family?"

"You're our buddy now, so you're in on me and Roxy's little family, right, Roxas?" Axel turned to the blushing blond.

"I suppose."

"Good, you can be Nova's uncle."

"Nova?"

"Our daughter."

"Daughter? Roxas, didn't the two of you meet, like, two weeks ago?"

"Nova's a plant," Roxas shyly explained.

"Oh. That… makes sense…?"

"Try not to worry your pretty silver head over it," Axel said.

…

"This should be interesting," Axel chuckled.

"Axel, I really don't want Riku to have to go through meeting Mama…"

The redhead grinned. "Aw, but Roxy, you're mom's so cool! She'll love him!"

"That's what I'm afraid of…" Roxas sighed.

Riku sat up front with Axel. "Hey, Roxas, don't you want to sit up here with Axel? Aren't you two dating?"

Roxas blushed. "It's been this way since we met. I always sat in the back, and Axel doesn't mind."

"Yeah, I like having something cute to look at in my rear-view mirror. Right, my little Miss Daisy?"

The blond blushed deeper. "R-right."

"Ah, the Auditore de Firenze house."

"This is where you live? It's huge!"

"I know. We have a big family, we are Italian, after all."

"You? Italian?" Riku scoffed in disbelief.

Roxas smiled in understanding. "I'm adopted."

"Ah. Any idea what happened to your real parents?"

Axel looked up nervously. He wasn't sure if Roxas was okay saying he was abandoned at birth.

"Oh, they just didn't want me, that's all."

"I'm sorry."

Roxas smiled softly. "It's okay. I've answered that question plenty of times, it doesn't bother me anymore."

…

"Mama? I brought home a friend."

"Really? Let me see your new friend, Roxaso!"

"Mama, this is Riku."

"Such a handsome face! Be careful, Axelo, this one might steal Roxaso away from you! And your eyes glow too! I love your hair color. Roxaso, you really do know how to pick your boyfriends!"

"Mama!" Roxas whined, blushing. "Riku's _**JUST**_ my friend! _**AXEL**_ is my boyfriend!"

"Ah, si, si, Roxaso, don't worry, Mama knows. Now why don't the three of you go downstairs and play video games? Show Riku your X-Box that you got from Uncle Mario."

"Si, Mama."

…

"Yikes," Roxas blushed, burying his face in his hands. "I'm so sorry, Riku!"

Axel was laughing. "Roxy, your mom is the greatest!"

"It's okay, Roxas…" Riku patted his shoulder lightly. "It's cool. Don't worry about it, okay?"

Roxas sniffled and nodded, taking off his glasses to wipe his eyes.

"WHOA!" Riku exclaimed, leaping back at the sight of Roxas' eyes. "Hey, Axel? Can I keep him?"

"No!" Axel growled.

"I dunno, you were laughing when Riku was trying to console me. I might just leave you for him!" Roxas raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, don't be like that, baby…" Axel hugged him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you!"

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You just have to make it up to me."

"Anything."

"Work my shift at the restaurant tomorrow!"

"What? Roxas!"

Riku burst out laughing. "This has to be the most entertaining lover's spat I've ever seen! Let's play Viva Piñata. It's a surprisingly good game."

"I know, right? Axel won't believe me when I say it's awesome!"

"You know the minigame with the hand that slaps you off?"

"That's my favorite! It's so funny!"

Axel felt very left out of the conversation. Idly, he wondered if Riku _**WAS**_ the better boyfriend for Roxas. They didn't have much chemistry, but they got along great and had most of the same interests. As the pair chatted, the depressing thoughts grew stronger to the point Axel turned around and left, ignoring Roxas' calls after him.

"Axel… Axel's leaving… he's leaving me here alone… I can't be alone… no, no, no…" Roxas started taking in sharp squeaks of air as his hands trembled.

"Roxas, are you okay?" Riku cautiously shook his shoulder, noting the tears running down Roxas' face that seemed paler than usual, all color drained from his skin.

"Axel, don't leave me… not like this… don't go, don't go!" he shakily stood and ran after his lover.

Axel walked to his car and unlocked the door, suddenly feeling arms around his waist from behind and a spiky blonde head against his back.

"Axel, please don't go…" he was breathing strangely, and Axel recognized the oncoming anxiety attack. He spun around and hugged Roxas tightly.

"It's okay, Roxas, I'll stay… Take deep breaths, okay? Let's get you inside…" he carried the blonde into the house and rushed to Fredrico's side. "Fredrico, Roxas is having an attack."

The blonde's eyes were closed and he was taking in small, gasping breaths as he struggled for air. Axel brushed aside the sweaty locks as Riku looked over his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Roxas, stay with me… I wasn't leaving you. I was just jealous, okay? It's okay… you're so cute…" Axel whispered to the unconscious boy as Fredrico measured out the injection before shooting the serum into Roxas' arm. The boy's face turned a light pink color as his breathing returned to normal and his eyes slipped open. Axel sighed with relief. "Roxas… you scared me. I was so worried about you…"

"It's okay… Axel…" the blonde smiled gently to soothe his lover before looking at the silverette behind the redhead. "Ri… ku…" he breathed softly. "I'm… sorry you had to see that…"

"Don't worry about it. I was just worried, that's all. We're friends now, remember?"

"Come on, Roxas. You should rest. Wait up here for a few minutes, Riku, I'll stay with him."

"Alright."

…

"You're so cute," Axel purred, kissing Roxas' cheek. The blonde boy giggled.

"You're so handsome," he countered, pulling Axel into a deep, sensual kiss that left them both breathless as they pulled away. Roxas smiled softly, running his fingers through Axel's thick mane of velvety, textured hair. "You know, you're the best boyfriend I could have ever asked for…"

"Aw. And you're the best boyfriend I've ever had."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "I'm the ONLY boyfriend you've ever had!"

"That makes you the best!"

He hit Axel with a pillow and smiled. "But you really are a great lover."

"Oh, I know, baby… and I'm great in bed too!" he grinned.

"Pervert."

"You haven't broken up with me yet, so I must be insanely charming."

The blonde simply rolled his eyes.

…

"Riku! Why don't you stay for dinner?"

"Oh, no thank you, ma'am. I couldn't impose."

"No, really! I insist!"

Fredrico muttered into his ear. "Maria doesn't take 'no' for an answer. She's determined to feed you."

"I suppose I could stay."

Delighted, Maria clapped her hands together and set off to cooking.

"Riku, you wanna play some video games? Roxas is all better now."

"Alright."

…

**I like-y this chap-pie.**


	42. Calma prima della tempesta: Masturbazion

**The final chapter of part 3.**

* * *

"Here. I got you a little something."

Roxas took the package and looked up at Axel. "For me?"

"Yep."

"A present? But why?"

"I need a reason?"

"I… I guess not…" he opened it and blushed. "Nature CDs?"

"Yeah, I figured they're s'posed to be, you know… relaxing and all… I figured if you listen to them while you sleep you won't have nightmares… I saw them in the store and thought maybe you'd like them."

Roxas hugged Axel. "Thank you. It's so sweet that you thought of me…"

"I'm always thinking of you. Almost always."

"Do I even want to know what you mean by that?"

"I'm just saying it's easier to jack off to a picture of a girl with huge boobs than to burn energy imagining you…"

"YOU'RE DISGUSTING!" Roxas hissed, venom leaking from his tone in a way that Axel just assumed meant he was jealous.

"I'm joking. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I jacked off to someone other than my cute little lover?" he wrapped his arms around the blonde, who wormed free.

"You shouldn't be doing that at all! It's gross!"

"You meant you've never touched yourself? Babe, it's a natural human urge to want sex sometimes. _Everyone_'s tried it at least once. Don't lie to me, you must have done it…"

"Ew!"

"You must have. I've seen you aroused before, don't deny it. You have quite the little sex drive…"

"You have never seen me anything like that!"

"You started getting hard the last time I kissed you, I could feel it."

"This is such an inappropriate conversation, Papa will kill us both!"

"He doesn't have to know… and when he was our age he did it too. It's okay, Roxas, you don't have to panic."

"Ew-ew-ew-ew-ew! Just stop it! I don't want to hear anymore!"

"Do you want help?"

"GO HOME!"

* * *

Roxas slammed the door in Axel's face and collapsed onto his bed with a sob. "That's so disgusting… even _I_ thought Axel had more class than to do that… I mean… I feel so guilty when I even get a little turned on when he kisses me… that feeling of heat in my stomach, the lightheadedness, the feeling of my pulse where it doesn't belong… why? Why does something that's supposed to be so great have to be so disgusting? I can't believe Axel would ask me if I touch myself. That's none of his business anyway, even if I did—which I DON'T! Ugh… just getting so worked up over this is making me sick. Maybe… maybe I should ask Mama and Papa… they'd know if Axel was telling the truth…"

* * *

"Mama…?" he called hesitantly into the kitchen.

"Maria went out, Roxaso. Is there something you need?" Fredrico was sitting and nursing a cup of coffee in his hands.

"Papa…" he bit his lower lip. "I have a question."

"What is it?"

"I don't want you to get mad…"

"You can tell Maria and I anything, we told you this."

"Well… is it… is it okay to… t-touch… yourself…?"

Fredrico jumped in shock, nearly choking on his coffee. "Where would you ever hear of such a thing? I knew that Axel was a bad influence—"

"Papa, no!" Roxas held up his hands. "We talked about it in health class at school… I mean… not exactly… but…" he stumbled on his lie. They had briefly brought it up in Sex Ed, but the teacher quickly shunned the question and moved on. Just like any questions regarding gay sex and male pregnancy, it was cast aside. "The teacher didn't explain it in a way that made sense to me."

Fredrico took a deep breath. "Piacere te… to… well, in English it's called masturbation. It's… difficult for most parents to talk about because they don't want their kids to do anything that involves sex. But I will be honest with you, Roxas, before I met your mother I had your same dilemma. I knew the other boys were doing it, and I was certain _I_ wanted to, but my parents _didn't_ want me to. I lived in a different time as well as a different country, so I ended up with a severe beating for asking about it, but my papa, your Avo Giovanni, then assured me that it was normal to want to do it, but that doesn't make it RIGHT to do it. Now I will pass this along to you, Roxaso. It's not worth the guilt afterwards. Every sexual experience has a price, and you need to be mature enough to pay it before you can get away with it scot-free. Trust me. Both of my brothers, your uncles Ezio and Petruccio, learned that the hard way, only your uncle Ezio never learned from it. Axelo reminds me of my brother Ezio."

"Si… papa…" Roxas looked down.

"Ti amo, Roxaso. I love you," Fredrico kissed his cheeks.

"Si. Ti amo…"

* * *

"Axel?"

**-Yeah, babe?-**

"I'm sorry about earlier."

**-Me too, kid. It's okay. But it's in the past.-**

"Thank you."

**-Yeah. Goodnight, babe.-**

"Goodnight."

* * *

**Yay.**


	43. End of Part Three: Chapter Guide

**The following are the translations of the chapter titles in Part Two.**

* * *

34. Sick

* * *

35. Don't go it alone

* * *

36. Calling

* * *

37. One-Winged Sinner

* * *

38. Electric Dog Collar

* * *

39. Escape to Kingdom Hearts

* * *

40. The interlude

* * *

41. Friendship bracelet, down to earth

* * *

42. Calm before the storm: Masturbation

_**

* * *

**_

43. END OF PART THREE / CHAPTER GUIDE – (that's this!)

On haitus!


	44. Senza Rapporti: Ritorno del Chupacabra

**I'm sticking a warning label on all of part four. Sensitive subject materia… I mean materia**_**I**__**…**_** ahead.**

* * *

"_Listen. I _need_ sex, and if you won't give it to me, I'll find someone who will!"_

* * *

Roxas awoke with a ringing in his ears, shaking his head to eradicate the sound. _'What a weird dream… But Axel wouldn't cheat on me, he said he was fine with me not being ready for sex yet.'_

* * *

_-"You aren't angry that I won't sleep with you, right?"_

"_Of course not. Sex is the farthest thing from my mind when I'm with you, Roxy. Don't worry about it, I understand that you aren't ready. Come on, cutie, you'll be late for school if you don't hurry up," he'd said, flashing a smile and giving Roxas a swift quick peck on the cheek.-_

* * *

Roxas smiled to himself. '_So I have nothing to worry about.'_

* * *

"Good morning, Miss Daisy!" Axel grinned, holding the car door open for his little blonde. "And how is my little sunshine this morning?"

"I had a weird dream last night."

"Oh? Want to talk about it?"

"No, it's okay."

"If you're sure."

"I'm fine."

* * *

**Thirteen days later…**

* * *

"Am I pretty?" a female's tone cooed from around the corner in an empty hallway adjacent to the one Roxas strode down.

"Can't say you're not…" Roxas froze at that voice. That was Axel. What was worse? It was flirty, seduction-mode, I-am-so-getting-laid-in-the-next-ten-minutes Axel.

"Am I important to you?"

Roxas peered around the corner. Axel was leaning against a row of lockers, propping himself up with his arm as he looked down at the busty girl. "That depends…" the redhead purred. "Do you want to be?"

She giggled, hands roaming over his chest. Roxas gritted his teeth in disgust. "Even more important than that… blonde boy?"

Axel seemed to snap to his senses at the mention of him. "You mean Roxas?"

Roxas grinned smugly, walking around the corner and freezing when he saw that Axel was still yet to push her away, his eyes once again hazed over with lust as she put her hands on the redhead. "I don't know… It could take quite a bit of persuasion for you to be quite a special as Roxas… but you may surprise me. How badly do you want it? Girls like you are unpredictable…"

"I just have to show you, then…" she reached for the ribbon that was keeping her top closed.

Roxas couldn't stand it anymore. He threw his books to the floor with a loud thud. Axel jumped, the noise breaking him from his lust-filled daze and back to reality. He spun around. "Roxas!"

Roxas pivoted on his heel, running away.

"Roxas, wait!" Axel shoved the girl aside and chased after him.

"Stay away from me!" Roxas suddenly felt his back against the wall: hands pinned over his head, an arm around his waist, and apologetic lips on his own. He shoved his boyfriend off. "Axel, stop! You cheater!"

"I wasn't cheating!"

"You planned on sleeping with her! You flirted with her and let her touch you, even though you have me! I shouldn't have ever believed you when you said you cared about me!"

"I _DO_ care about you!"

"Yeah, I'm sure. The way you intended to pound her into your mattress really makes me feel loved, Axel. It's simply _heartwarming_ to see your boyfriend seducing someone else, in _public_, no less."

"Roxas, you don't understand. She came on to me and I was caught up in the moment. I would have realized what was going on eventually."

"Yeah, AFTER you sleep with her. Then you think for a second and go _'oh yeah, that kid, what's-his-face. He's my lover. Oops. Well, that sucks. May as well screw this girl again while I'm here…'_ then you forget all about me. Then when I confront you you can't remember who I am, and when you do all I get is a shrug and a _'sorry, kid'_!"

"I wouldn't go through with it!"

"And your way of telling her off is feeling her up? Letting her put her hands all over you and try to kiss you…"

"Roxas, I wasn't cheating on you. I would never do anything with the intent to hurt you…"

_**-I haven't done anything to hurt a cute little thing like you…-**_

"But you would two-time me if they made you forget you had a boyfriend for 15 minutes. I've had enough of you today, Axel. I don't want to look at you, so stay away from me. I… I need some time to think…"

Axel kissed his forehead gingerly. "Okay. Please remember that you mean the world to me."

Roxas looked up at him with a serious expression. "I just wish the world was more important to you."

And the redhead was left behind, unable to say a word.

* * *

**FROM: 1-492-813-2834 **_**-ROXAS-**_

**TO:****1-492-875-7366 **_**-RENO-**_

**-meet me in the locker room in 5 minutes. alone.**

* * *

**FROM: ****1-492-875-7366 **_**-RENO-**_

**TO:****1-492-813-2834 **_**-ROXAS-**_

**-sure thing.…is somethin wrong?**

* * *

Roxas did not bother to reply. He wasn't in the mood to text. He could explain in person.

The blonde winced slightly at the sight of the smirking redhead lounging on a silvery, metal locker room bench. "Yo, Roxy-baby. What's on your mind? Where's Axe-head? I figured he'd be with you, following you like a little lost puppy."

"This is a personal meeting."

Reno's smirk grew to a grin. "Did you finally decide how much sexier I am than him? Don't be shy! A simple _'Oh, Reno, you're so much better than Axel! I was blind before now! Please fuck me!'_ would suffice."

"Reno," he began.

"Yeeess?"

"You're more pigheaded and arrogant than my boyfriend. But I need a favor from you."

"Hmm..." he looked up, tapping a finger to his chin in thought. "I guess that depends on what I get out of it."

"I don't care, whatever you want. But we can discuss payment after. Reno, I need you to help me."

"Forse non dovrei farlo, ha fatto call me una testa di maiale..."

Roxas gaped at him. "You speak Italian?"

"YOU speak Italian?"

"Certo che lo so, io vivo con una famiglia italiana, sarebbe un problema se non ho."

"Alright, I'll do your favor. Just tell me what you need."

* * *

**OoooOOOoooO -ringz? ...no… anello-z.**

_**

* * *

**_

A taste, teaser if you will… of part 4.

* * *

**Translations:**

_**"Forse non dovrei farlo, ha fatto callo mi una testa di maiale ..."**__**  
"Maybe I shouldn't do it, he DID call me a pighead…"**_

_**"Certo che lo so, io vivo con una famiglia italiana, sarebbe un problema se non ho."**__**  
"Of course I do! I live with an Italian family, it would be a problem if I didn't."**_


	45. Ritorno RedTesta2! Italiano!

**Pretty bad from here on out…**

**Lots of Italian.**

* * *

Axel followed Roxas slowly to give him space, but he still wanted to talk about it. He and Roxas hadn't fought like this apart from the day they met, and even then, Roxas hadn't taken it this far. Axel felt empty and guilt was seeping in.

'_He went to the locker room. I wonder why? Would we know that has gym this—'_

He stopped dead in his tracks.

'_RENO.'_

Axel felt jealousy overtake him, so he tried to reason with himself.

'_Reno has gym this period. In theory, he should be in one of the weight rooms… but he might be the type to skip gym class and prey on upset boyfriends. Roxas might be having an emotional breakdown, leaving him vulnerable. Shit! Reno's seen Roxas without his glasses, so he knows how cute he is! He said he wanted to sleep with Roxas and fantasize about him. Roxas said he was hot!'_

This made Axel start running.

'_Is Reno gets anywhere near him, I'll…'_

He took a step back at what he saw. Reno was kissing Roxas lustfully… or rather, Reno was shoving his tongue down Roxas' throat while the blond submitted.

Roxas didn't seem to be enjoying himself, he kind of looked like he was gagging, as if he was choking on Reno's tongue. But he wasn't resisting, simply staying dormant is Reno had his fun. The blond sort of appeared to be waiting for the obviously horny redhead to satisfy himself and leave him alone. _'Damn it, Roxas! That's an invitation for rape! One he won't refuse!'_

Distressed, Axel couldn't find his voice, so he punched the nearest locker and split them up at the sound.

Reno smirked triumphantly, breaking the so-called 'kiss' to move behind Roxas and rest his chin on his shoulder. Axel thought he looked kind of like a parrot. Can parrots look smug like that?

Meanwhile, Roxas was gasping for air. Remember how Axel had said that it looked like he was choking? The fading tint of blue in his cheeks confirmed that the blond had literally stopped breathing when Reno started kissing him… and who knows how long ago that was. If he'd waited much longer, Roxas would have asphyxiated.

'_Dear God, Roxas, this guy is going to kill you!'_

"Axel…" Roxas gasped, voice hoarse. "Did you… know…? Reno… can speak… Italian…" he forced a smile, tears in his eyes is Reno's lips played over his ear. Reno was speaking Italian, but Axel had no idea what he was saying, just that whatever it was was making Roxas very uncomfortable. Though Roxas tried to maintain his composure, his eyes betrayed him, those beautiful eyes, that only Axel was never supposed to see…

"Voglio farti nel mio letto stanotte ... ti devo portare a casa con me, mi chiedo? In questo modo posso libra nel materasso..."

"Reno, si prega di smettere di dire cose del genere. sto diventando paura."

"Una vergine bella di rivendicare come il mio..."

"Per favore..."

Axel knew that word. He suddenly found his voice. "Please what, Roxas? Reno what're you saying to him, you jackass? Can't you see you're upsetting him?"

"Funny how you say that to me, Axel, seeing how you were the one who made him come to me for support."

"Yeah, and I'm sorry. I care about Roxas. I don't want to see him hurt, so I request you release him. Can't you see he's scared?"

"He asked me to do this. He told me himself that he wanted this. Non è vero, il mio ciliegio? Quelle erano le tue parole, non erano loro, Roxas? "

Slowly, Roxas nodded.

"Ora lui uscire di qui. Abbiamo bisogno di discutere il pagamento."

"Please… Please leave, Axel…" he choked out.

"Roxas, I—"

"Please! Just… just leave me alone, Axel. Go away."

Reluctantly, Axel left, murmuring a 'be safe' over his shoulder.

"Axel…" he whimpered.

"Now, Roxas. As for how you're going to pay me… You said I could have anything I wanted. And there's only one thing I'm after."

"Reno, no! Anything else! I'm begging you!"

"Ah-ah-ah, Roxas. You said ANYTHING. No going back on your word, Roxy-baby… it would tarnish your ever-fragile reputation…"

"Please, Reno!"

"Please? Please what? That could mean anything…" he smirked. "Unfortunately, I translate to fit my own needs."

"No!"

* * *

Axel crossed the campus and got into his car. "Fuck class, I can't concentrate on anything. I'm going home."

When he started his car, he looked into the rearview mirror out of habit, frowning when his backseat lacked his little Miss Daisy. _'I wonder how he's going to get home… Maybe Reno will drive him…'_

He clenched his steering wheel at the thought, putting the car in drive and speeding off.

* * *

The redhead parked and suddenly felt his phone go off.

_**-Roxas calling.**_

He contemplated not answering it out of spite, but took a deep breath and flipped it open. _'I'm not mad at Roxas, I'm worried sick.'_

"Hello?"

The only sound on the other end were grunts and sobs.

"Roxas?"

**-Hold still…-**

'_Reno!'_

**-No! Please stop it, Reno!-**

"Roxas! Roxas, what's going on?"

**-STOP IT, PLEASE! IT HURTS, RENO, YOU'RE HURTING ME! DON'T!-**

"Roxas? Roxas, can you hear me?"

**-This would be much less painful for you if you just held still. Now open your mouth.-**

**-NO! STOP!-**

Axel snapped his phone shut. He couldn't bear to hear any more. After a moment, he opened it again.

**-911, what is your emergency?-**

"I need have someone, anyone, sent a Half-Heart High School gym. To the boy's locker room…" he felt tears running down his face.

**-I'll get on that immediately, Sir. May I ask your name and what the officer is looking for?-**

"My name is Axel, and I'd usually tell you to get it memorized, but right now you could call me Bob for all I care…"

**-And what exactly is the emergency? The police are on their way.-**

"I have reason to believe that my friend…

…_is being raped."_

* * *

**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**

**Translations:**

**"Voglio farti nel mio letto stanotte ... ti devo portare a casa con me, mi chiedo? In questo modo posso libra nel materasso ..."****  
****"Reno, si prega di smettere di dire cose del genere. sto diventando paura."  
****"Una vergine bella di rivendicare come il mio ..."  
"Per favore ..."**

**"I want to get you into my bed tonight... Should I take you home with me, I wonder? That way I can pound you into the mattress..."  
****"Reno, please stop saying things like that. I'm getting frightened."  
****"A lovely virgin to claim as my own..."  
****"Please..."**

**Non è vero, il mio ciliegio? Quelle erano le tue parole, non erano loro, Roxas?"****  
Isn't that right, my cherry? Those were your words, weren't they, Roxas?"**

**"Ora lui uscire di qui. Abbiamo bisogno di discutere il pagamento."****  
"Now get him out of here. We need to discuss your payment."**


	46. Violentata

**Pretty bad from here on out…**

* * *

"Reno! Stop it! I'm begging you!"

A siren approached and Reno shot up. "Someone called the f*cking cops?"

He noticed the open phone under the bench and smacked Roxas hard across the face.

"You little bitch. You sneaky, conniving BITCH!" the redhead grabbed Roxas by the throat and slammed him into the lockers, biting his neck harshly to make the blonde scream out in agony.

Reno threw the small blonde to the floor, replacing his clothes and bolting out, leaving the defiled, beaten Roxas in a crumpled, sobbing heap on the floor.

* * *

"Please tell me I'm not too late…" Axel got as close as he could in his car before jumping out and running up to an officer. "Is Roxas alright? Where is he? I have to see him and make sure he's okay!"

"We apprehended the suspect, but the victim is most likely still inside, we haven't gone in to check yet."

"Please, officer… Let me look for him. If he sees a stranger he might have a panic attack, and I don't know what state he's in right now. I promise I will yell for assistance if I need it. _Please._ Let me find him. I'm just so worried about Roxas…" the desperation was clear in his nearly-cracking voice.

"Go ahead. We'll remain on standby."

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

'_Hang in there, Roxas… I'm on my way…'_

* * *

**Super-short chapter.**


	47. Salvataggio! Paura!

**OMG an update after so long! School's almost over, and this summer I promise to write more and try and catch up for you guys!**

**Not much I can say about this****…**

* * *

The locker room certainly looked like a crime scene now. There was a bloody dent in a row of lockers (and not the one Axel had made), Roxas' broken cell phone, and a general major disaster area. Hurricane Reno had struck, and he'd dealt some damage.

There was blood splattered and puddled around, along with another substance that made him want to vomit and cry at the same time.

He listened intently. One of the showers was running. Axel got closer to the sound, mustering up the most comforting, loving tone he could manage. "Roxas?"

The panicked gasp echoed slightly against the cement walls.

"Shh… Don't be scared, Roxas. It's Axel, okay? I'm here to help you."

"a…xel…?" his voice was so quiet it was almost scary.

"That's right. I'm going to protect you now. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again," Axel crouched beside him. Roxas sat curled up in a tight ball on the shower floor, face hidden in his arms. The redhead noticed his erratic breathing and took a deep breath of his own. "Roxas, I'm going to put my hand on your shoulder now, so just relax, okay? I need you to calm down a little or you might go into shock. Slow, deep breaths. You trust me, Roxas. You trust me more than anyone. We're best friends. We're lovers. You trust me…"

"…trust…?"

"You trust me. You're safe with me now. Can I see your face?"

"promise…"

"Promise what, dove?"

"…don't yell…"

"No, dove. I would never yell at you. This isn't your fault, baby. I won't yell. I promise."

Roxas looked up slowly. He was sobbing, trauma evident in his eyes as tears ran down his face which was covered in grime. His blood, his sweat, his tears… and Reno's seed. It was all over that beautiful face. Axel had the sudden urge to hurt something, but he maintained his composure for Roxas' sake.

"Close your eyes, dove. I'll wash your face."

Roxas gave a small nod, closing his eyes. But he whimpered whenever Axel touched him.

"Roxas? What's wrong?" he went to touch his cheek, but the blonde pulled away, shaking like a leaf in fright. "Roxas, it's me. It's Axel, remember?"

Roxas relaxed slightly and Axel continued his comforting words.

"It's okay. Don't be scared, Roxas. I'm here. Axel's here. I'll protect you, dove…"

When the boy was clean, Axel tenderly caressed his face. Roxas opened his eyes, leaning into the touch. Axel smiled warmly, looking into the eyes he so greatly adored.

"Roxas… you're so beautiful," he pecked his forehead. "I'm sorry you had to go through this. You're still so cute… I'm so lucky to be able to look at you…"

"…only you…" he whispered.

"I'm glad," Axel leaned in and kissed his lips, immediately pulling away when he saw the way Roxas' body reacted. "Roxas! Never, EVER do that again," he growled sternly. "You really scared me. Don't you ever stop breathing when I kiss you, no matter what. I don't want to end up killing you because I kissed you for too long! You stopped breathing and went completely limp in my arms. Don't _**EVER**_ worry me like that again."

"…ax…"

"I'm not going to hurt you like he did. I want you to feel loved and precious when I kiss you. I never want to make you afraid."

Roxas nodded slowly and Axel moved to kiss him again.

"_Breathe_, Roxas," he hissed.

"okay."

Axel put all the love and tenderness he could into that small kiss. He wanted Roxas to realize ho much he wanted to help. The boy relaxed and let the elder shut off the water and wrap a towel around him. "Roxas, I'm going to get someone to help me get you somewhere safe. I—" he paused as he saw the pure terror in Roxas' eyes, either from the prospect of Axel leaving his sight, or the thought a stranger would be touching him. Or both. "Roxas, listen. Ascolta, dove. You trust me, don't you? I'll protect you. I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise. Don't move."

Axel pecked his forehead lightly and stood, leaving the boy, who began trembling in fear the moment Axel left his line of vision.

* * *

"I need one nurse to help me get him into the ambulance."

A young woman stood. She had soft hazel eyes and long black hair with brown streaks. "I'll go."

"Great. Follow me. My name is Axel, and my friend is Roxas."

"I'm Saphira Karen."

* * *

**Reviews are SUPER appreciated. I'm trying to reach 50 reviews!**


	48. Fidarsi

**T~T **_**Poor Roxy-kins!**_

* * *

"_Roxas? I'm back. And this person is going to help."_

Roxas saw the redhead with blurred vision and suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He screamed, sobbing as he backed away. "No! Please stop it! It hurts, Reno! Axel, why aren't you protecting me? Don't touch me, Reno, please!"

"Roxas, you're alright. I'm Axel. I'm not Reno, I'm not going to hurt you like he did. I'm right here. You're safe, okay?"

'_Goodness… the trauma is worse than I had anticipated. Poor child,'_ Saphira thought.

Roxas was still trembling. "Y-your eyes… and hair… and face…" he sobbed. "They're the same!"

"Shh… I know we look alike. But I would never hurt you the way he did."

The blonde threw his arms around his lover's neck and sobbed. "I'm scared!"

He rubbed his back gently. "I know, dove. But you're safe now."

Saphira took a step forward to pet Roxas' hair, but the blonde spotted her and burst into a panic.

"Axel! Don't let her hurt me!"

"Dove, calm down. Saphira's a nurse. She's going to help you. I can't take care of you on my own, so I need you to trust Saphira. Can you do that for me, Roxas? She's not going to harm you. She's going to protect you when I can't. We're going to get you to the hospital and Saphira or I will be with you the entire time to keep you safe."

"You want… me… to trust… Saphira?"

"That's right. I need to go tell your parents what's going on, so I'm leaving Saphira in charge of taking care of you, okay?"

"They won't… yell at me?"

"No, no, no… no one's going to yell at you. You didn't do anything wrong, baby. Saphira and I won't let anyone yell at you."

Roxas nodded and was lifted by Axel, who kissed his forehead. "Ti amo, Axel…" he whispered.

Axel made a mental note to figure out later what Roxas had just said before handing him off to the young woman. "Saphira's going to take good care of you, I promise."

The blonde squeezed Axel's hand gently. "Saphira? Are there a lot of people outside?"

She nodded.

"You'll protect me from them?"

"Yes. The doctors will touch you, but no one is going to hurt you again. Even Axel says it's going to be fine. I'll look after you."

Axel looked into her eyes, slight venom in his tone. "Take care of him."

* * *

**Still**** trying to reach 50 reviews!**


	49. Tentato omicidio

**What's gonna happen? Read on…**

* * *

The door opened and Axel smiled at the woman weakly. "Good afternoon, Signora Maria…"

"Axelo!" she kissed his cheeks and hugged him gently. "How are you? School isn't over yet, so Roxaso isn't here… shouldn't you be at school too?"

"Roxas is the reason I'm here. He's on his way to the hospital right now…" Axel turned to the police officer.

"Are you Roxas' parent or legal guardian, Ma'am?"

"Yes. What happened to my baby boy?"

"He's too upset to be interrogated right now, but our evidence is pointing to the distinct possibility that he may have been raped."

She covered her mouth as her eyes widened in shock. "No!" she sobbed.

"If it is any consolation, Ma'am, this young man contacted us in time for us to capture our suspect and seek medical attention for your son."

"Oh, Axelo!" she embraced the redhead gratefully. "Thank you for being such a good child… is Roxaso going to be alright?"

"We hope. Axel, you should get to him before he gets upset. Ma'am, I take it you can inform the rest of the family on your own?"

"Yes. Take care of my son, Axelo. He really loves you very much."

"Th-thank you, Mrs. Auditore…" Axel maintained his confused blush all the way to the ER. _'__Roxas__… __loves__me?__No.__He__couldn__'__t__love__me.__I__'__m__a__bad__kid__and__a__terrible__boyfriend.__If__I__had__treated__him__better__Reno__wouldn__'__t__have__ever__touched__him.__It__'__s__all__my__fault__…'_ he sat in his car for a moment and sobbed. _'__Roxas__… __I__'__m__so__sorry__…'_

* * *

"A-axel…" tears were running down his cheeks. "Where's Axel?"

Saphira smiled sadly down at the boy clutching her sleeve. "I'm sorry, dear. I don't know. But he said he would be here shortly."

"I miss him… I want to know he's keeping me safe! I'm really, really scared, Saphira!"

"Shh…" she pet his hair gently, running her fingers through the blond locks. "He's coming, sweetie. And he's keeping you safe. He made sure someone would take care of you until he came back. Axel must love you a lot."

'_That__'__s __not __true__… __Axel __couldn__'__t __love __me. __I__'__m __a __goody-goody __and __a __jealous __lover. __I __have __no __right __to __be __jealous __when __I __can__'__t __give __him __what __he __needs. __If __I __hadn__'__t __been __so __afraid __to __sleep __with __him, __he __wouldn__'__t __have __had __to __seek __sexual __fulfillment __elsewhere. __And __now __I__'__m __clinging __to __him __like __a __frightened __kitten__…' _he wiped his eyes, but the tears kept coming. "Do you… do you think he's coming back?"

A hand ran across his cheek. "Did you miss me, dove?"

Roxas took the person's left hand, unable to trust his eyes, and smiled as he ran his fingers over the design on the ring. His eyes saw Reno, but his body felt Axel. He sighed contentedly, closing his eyes and taking in the feel of his lover's soft hands against his face and neck, the scent of dewdrop-laden roses… "Axel."

"That's right. You didn't panic this time. I'm proud of you," Axel kissed each of his eyelids, causing them to flutter open.

Roxas smiled. "I'm so happy… I can see _you_ again. Axel… did I ever tell you… your hair is crazy?"

"It may be crazy, but it's sexy!" Axel argued, defending his hairstyle.

The blonde giggled. "I _do_ love your crazy hair."

_**-"He really does love you."-**_

'_Don__'__t __read __into __it. __He __said __he __loves __your __hair, __not __you. __Like __saying __he __loves __pizza,__'_ he thought as Saphira left the room, leaving them alone.

"Axel, is it okay… to ask for a kiss?"

"You don't need to ask," Axel leaned in and kissed him gently, smiling at the fact Roxas remembered to breathe. "You must be feeling much better already. You aren't going into panic mode nearly as much. I'm so proud of you, Roxas, I really am. How are you feeling?"

"Better than before. You saved me… even though I was so mean to you…"

"No, no, baby… don't cry. I was inconsiderate. Old habits die hard and I messed up. Don't blame yourself, okay?"

"O… okay…"

Axel kissed his forehead lightly and the door suddenly flew open and was slammed shut, Fredrico entering the room in the time between.

"Signore Fredrico?" Axel took a moment to confirm who had stormed in. Fredrico moved behind Axel and held a pocket knife to the redhead's throat.

"What did you do? Why are you in this room? I don't want a monster like you anywhere near my son!" he spat, furious.

Roxas felt fear well up inside of him. "Papa, no!"

Axel spun around and knocked the knife to the floor. His mind automatically went into self-defense mode and he knocked Fredrico to the ground, wrestling for control with the older man.

Roxas watched as two people he loved tried to kill each other. He cried for them to stop, reaching for Axel only to fall off the bed and to the hard floor beside the knife. He picked it up and held it to his throat. "If you two don't stop, I'll kill myself!"

The pair froze, wide eyes locked on the suicidal-posed blond. Axel slowly moved toward him. "Roxas… put the knife down, dove…"

"Stay back! I'll slit my throat!" he knew his hands were shaking, but he couldn't control himself.

"Baby, I promised you I would always protect you… And right now, I'm protecting you from yourself. You want to do something that I could never forgive myself for letting happen. You're the light of my life, the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I don't know what I would do if I lost you. So please… don't do this. You have so much to live for…" he held out his hand.

"Axel…" Roxas put the knife in Axel's hand, who put it aside and held open his arms to catch Roxas' desperate hug. "Axel! I'm sorry!" he sobbed, shaking.

"Shh, it's okay, baby… you're alright… I've got you…" Axel kissed his forehead softly. "It's okay."

"Axel… Axel, ti amo… Ti amo!"

'_He__said__it__again__… __what__does__that__mean?__'_ Axel pondered. Fredrico on the other hand, was shocked speechless. Roxas had told Axel how he felt, whether the older boy understood or not.

"I'm sorry. Maria was extremely upset when she was trying to explain. All I understood was that something had happened to my boy, and that Axelo had something to do with it. I'm going to go out on a limb now and say Axelo wasn't the one that hurt you, Roxaso."

"No, Papa! Axel was the one that saved me!" Roxas hugged Axel tighter to emphasize his point. "Reno was the one that—" he trailed off, not wanting to bring back the memories.

Axel kissed Roxas on the cheek. "Roxas… you don't have to talk about it right now."

The redhead lifted the boy and lie him down on the bed. "Promise you won't fight anymore?"

"You just get some rest. You've been through a lot today," Axel whispered sadly. "Sleep…"

* * *

"Axelo. Will you do me a favor?" Fredrico asked, turning away from his sleeping son to face Axel.

"Sir?"

"Take my boy back to your apartment. Keep an eye on him tonight. I'm trusting you to take care of him. I have a feeling our house will be too noisy for him to go to right away. Understood?"

"Yes. I promise to keep him safe."

There was a pause before Fredrico spoke again. "You really care for my boy, don't you?"

"I do."

"Don't break his heart. He's too delicate to handle that right now. He trusts you with everything he's got. More than I think he's ever trusted anyone."

"He's the light of my life. He's precious to me, you know?"

Fredrico turned and walked out the door, speaking to Axel over his shoulder. "He loves you very much."

* * *

**Jeez, this story hasn't been touched in forever…**

**Regardless, I need to stick it back on haitus, along with everything else. Too much going on in my life right now to be writing fanfiction all the time. Much to my dismay.**

**-Kiyux.**


	50. Il Mio Amante Appartamento

**Italian spoken in this chapter. All translations will be provided for the Italian-impaired. Thank you.**

**-all translations provided at the bottom of the page to not deter from the story.-**

**Cassanova Italiano 50! (Halfway marker!)**

**A/N: What is this madness? A real header?**

* * *

"Roxas… Roxas loves me…?" Axel muttered, confused. "Has he actually said that to Fredrico? Why would he say something like that?"

A soft groan and the ruffling of sheets signaled the waking of the younger boy. "Axel…" he whispered, his eyes closed, "…ti amo…"

"I'm here, dove. Open your eyes, baby."

Roxas' eyes slipped open and he smiled. "Hey you."

"Hey yourself."

"Axel… kiss me…" he asked quietly.

With a soft chuckle, Axel complied by pecking the blond shortly and sweetly. "Fredrico said it's alright. You'll be staying with me tonight in my apartment."

"REALLY?!" he exclaimed, shocked.

"He said it'd be too noisy and stressful at home."

Roxas nodded, smiling softly. "Okay. Can I call him?"

* * *

**-Auditore de Firenze.-**

"Papa! Is it really okay to stay with Axel?"

**-Yes. Just make sure he doesn't touch you inappropriately! Nothing past kisses, understand? I don't need you getting pregnant.-**

"Papà! Non dire queste cose imbarazzanti in inglese! Axel potrebbe sentirti!"

Fredrico laughed. **-Call me in the morning, Roxaso. Ti amo.-**

"Si. Ti amo, Papa," Roxas sighed as he hung up. "How embarrassing."

Axel simply chuckled and kissed his forehead.

* * *

"Here we are…" Axel parked and looked in his mirror at his little Miss Daisy. Roxas was wrapped up in a blanket and starting to doze off. He rubbed his eyes cutely and nodded. "You look exhausted… Let's get you settled in and you can take a nap."

"Okay…" Roxas looked at the building. He'd been here once before, but he hadn't been allowed to leave the car. That was when the orphanage tried to sell him to Sephiroth… He put his hand to his neck and sighed in relief that none of the burns from the collar had been too serious. There were some very pale spots around his neck, but it wasn't noticeable unless you looked.

Axel opened the door to the backseat and motioned for Roxas to climb out. "Come on, dove. My apartment is a mess right now, sorry."

"It's okay, Axel. I can't wait to see where you live."

"Not very exciting, if you ask me. I am excited, however, to spend some time with you," his face grew serious. "I need to talk to you later. It's very important."

Roxas had a sinking feeling he knew what that was about. "Alright."

Axel opened the door and flipped on a light, gesturing Roxas inside. The blonde sniffed the air, trying to pinpoint the scent. It was almost sweet. Axel closed the door and sighed. "Welcome to my home. It's very small, but it does the trick. Come in. I've been doing little renovations since I moved in, so don't mind the supplies all over the place."

Roxas took off his shoes by the door and started roaming around. The floors all looked brand new. "Are the floors the kind of work you do around here?"

"Hm? Yeah. That's one of the more recent things. The landlord only lets me do these renovations because it will skyrocket the value of the place when I leave. It also keeps me out of trouble. This landlord has been watching over me since I moved here. I'm decently self-sufficient, so he doesn't come by much. But I do get food from his family sometimes and cards around the holidays. Nothing too exciting."

Roxas followed him to the bedroom, where Axel quickly set up the bed for Roxas to lie down. "I've been meaning to ask… what do you do for work, Axel?"

"A little of everything. I have multiple jobs," he replied, standing up straight and motioning to the bed. "All set. Get comfy, Roxas, you must be tired."

"Will you stay with me?"

Axel thought for a moment about all the work he had to get done, but brushed it off. Roxas was his guest, he deserved his attention. "Sure thing."

As Roxas dozed off, Axel decided he would wait until later to interrogate the poor blonde. But it needed to be done. He gazed upon his sleeping face, and painful images of the grime he'd seen him covered in flashed through his mind.

"If I ever see Reno again, I'll kill him…" he murmured. Roxas' brows drew together in pain, as if he heard the name. "Rest now, Roxas… Hush…" Axel cooed softly. "Axel's here. I'll protect you."

Roxas' expression eased and Axel kissed him softly before allowing himself to drift off.

* * *

"**Papa! Don't say such embarrassing things in English! Axel might hear you!"**

**"Papà! Non dire queste cose imbarazzanti in inglese! Axel potrebbe sentirti!"**

**Just a little something for you all. As a present. It's halfway written, as of right now. I've planned for 100 chapters and 8 parts, with Chapter 101 being the full chapter guide and final notes. I believe the end of Part 4 is chapter 53, if you want to go by that "halfway point" instead. It's 2013, guys! Happy New Year!  
Love, KlS-chan.**

**Hiatus, but I want to work on it some more.**


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